Ending emergency housing aid cuts a lifeline for domestic violence survivors

For most people, home is a place where they can relax and feel safe. But for people like me who have experienced domestic violence, an abusive home can feel more like a prison. Resources that help survivors escape from violent relationships and quickly find a safe place to live can literally be the difference between life and death. 

But right now, we are facing a looming crisis. The Emergency Housing Voucher program, a life-saving rental assistance initiative that has helped over 70,000 households experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence, will run out of funding if the federal government doesn’t act quickly. 

Loss of the program would push countless survivors back to their abusers, force tens of thousands of people into homelessness and hurt landlords across every state financially.

Back in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government allocated $5 billion to create the Emergency Housing Voucher program. It was the first time that this type of rental assistance was made available to people at immediate risk of homelessness, escaping domestic violence and without a shelter history. 

The vouchers not only came with significant rental assistance, which is essential for people living in high-cost cities with low housing vacancies like New York, but they also provided individualized housing navigation. This service, which pairs a voucher recipient with a housing expert to help them quickly find a new apartment, was instrumental in helping me and thousands of others find our homes. 

These vouchers have helped house people faster than any other new Department of Housing and Urban Development voucher program — and now, they are at risk.

The Emergency Housing Voucher program was designed to last 10 years, but the funding has been used faster than expected due to the significant increase in rental costs. More than 59,000 households across the country, including thousands of domestic violence survivors, currently rely on the program to afford their homes. 

If funding is not continued, many of us would be unable to make rent, forcing us onto the streets, into an overcrowded shelter or back with our abuser. I know it would be a struggle for my family and me, and for voucher holders in different circumstances, it would be an unmitigated, life-threatening disaster. As our country continues to grapple with the worst housing crisis in decades, this is simply not a tenable position.

But the reasons to protect the Emergency Housing Voucher program go beyond the recipients who hold a voucher right now. The success of the program has been, in part, due to landlords willingly participating in the program and renting to voucher holders with the knowledge that the federal government could be trusted to pay their portion of the rent. 

In New York State alone, more than 5,700 property owners participate in the Emergency Housing Voucher program. If we cut off funding, landlords won’t receive the rent they are owed and will be hurt financially, but also, they may forever lose the trust they had in voucher programs. 

It’s already incredibly difficult for voucher holders to find an apartment — it took me almost an entire year, even with the help of a housing navigator — and if fewer landlords are willing to take them, their effectiveness will be greatly diminished. As a result, people are likely to stay in shelters even longer, which costs more than vouchers.

Once you’ve escaped from an abusive relationship, a safe and stable home is a sanctuary. It’s a place where you can unwind, heal from the trauma you experienced and begin to rebuild your new life free from violence and coercive control. 

Housing literally saves lives — it certainly saved mine. But now, that could all go away. 

We must remember that domestic violence can affect anyone, from Republicans to Democrats and everyone in between. Let me be clear: This is not a partisan issue.

We need our elected leaders, from the White House to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), to stand up and fight for the Emergency Housing Voucher program. 

We cannot afford to let almost 60,000 families fall into homelessness. We cannot afford to push domestic violence survivors like me, who depend on vouchers, back to unsafe situations. The federal government must provide additional funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher program and protect survivors.

Daniris Espinal is a domestic violence survivor and an Emergency Housing Voucher program recipient.