ACLU of Rhode Island: Broad Nationwide Coalition Sues in Rhode Island to Block Trump Administration’s Unlawful Restrictions on Health and Housing Grants

From The Rhode Island Chapter of the Amercian Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

New Certification Requirements Threaten Critical Services for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors, LGBTQI+ Youth, and Unhoused Communities

Local Woonsocket-Based Non Profit Community Care Associates Is a Plaintiff

 

A nationwide coalition of domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, youth, and homelessness organizations filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s sweeping and unlawful conditions placed on federal grant funding from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These new funding restrictions target diversity, equity, inclusion, and transgender rights, putting life-saving services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQI+ youth, and unhoused communities at risk.

The coalition, which includes state coalitions and service providers from across the country, is asking the court to block the administration from enforcing requirements that push grantees to restrict or deny diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, censor support for transgender individuals, and certify compliance with broad anti-equity mandates, or else face severe penalties, including liability under the False Claims Act. In some programs, the administration has also extended anti-abortion restrictions.

The six Rhode Island organizational plaintiffs in the case are the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, House of Hope Community Development Corporation, Community Care Alliance, Foster Forward, Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, and Haus of Codec.

The other plaintiffs in the case include the California Partnership To End Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, District Of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual And Domestic Violence, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jane Doe Inc. (The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault And Domestic Violence), Kansas Coalition Against Sexual And Domestic Violence, Montana Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence, North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, ValorUS, Violence Free Minnesota, Virginia Sexual And Domestic Violence Action Alliance, and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward; Jacobson Lawyers Group; National Women’s Law Center; Amy Romero and Mary Dunn for the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island; and Lynette Labinger for the ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island.

Created and authorized by Congress, the affected programs – such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act – have long provided critical support to organizations that serve survivors, families, youth, and unhoused individuals. Through politically motivated funding conditions, the administration is undermining Congress’s clear intent, threatening the effectiveness of these programs, and jeopardizing services that vulnerable communities across the country depend on.

 

RHODE ISLAND-BASED PLAINTIFFS IN THE LAWSUIT

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence is Rhode Island’s federally designated domestic violence coalition made up of ten member agencies, and supports and assists domestic violence shelters in Rhode Island, among other goals. The Coalition has received grants from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that have allowed it to provide anti-racism and DEI training to its membership, and to build the capacity of culturally specific community-based agencies in Rhode Island to respond to domestic violence victims. The Coalition and some of its members have also received U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds for various purposes, including the improvement of referral coordination for victims and survivors of domestic violence who are seeking shelter, and to support rental assistance for dozens of homeless and at-risk households enrolled in the Rapid Rehousing program.

Foster Forward is a direct service nonprofit organization in Rhode Island that supports youth transitioning out of foster care by providing housing, workforce, financial capability, and permanency services to youth and young adults with foster care experience. The organization relies heavily on HUD grants to fund critical housing stabilization services for youth experiencing homelessness. This includes support for its Your Way Home program, which provides case management, housing navigation and rental assistance for homeless youth ages 18-24, including those exiting foster care, experiencing domestic violence, or aging out of residential placements.

House of Hope Community Development Corporation is a homeless service provider in Rhode Island. It manages a housing stabilization program with 250 units of supportive housing; conducts street outreach to connect those living on the street with service provision; and provides basic needs to support the health and dignity of the unhoused. The organization has received HHS grants to fund street outreach, social work, intensive case management, and harm reduction, particularly for those experiencing unsheltered chronic homelessness and comorbid mental health challenges. The organization also currently has four grants directly through HUD, that, among other things, provides funding for permanent supportive affordable housing units, street outreach services to homeless young adults, and rental assistance and supportive services to multiple households in the private rental market.

The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness connects families and individuals who are living outdoors with shelters through a 365 day a year hotline, manages the statewide database that tracks all persons experiencing homelessness in the state of Rhode Island, and analyzes trends in homelessness to achieve better outcomes. The Coalition has received HUD grants to support the Homeless Management Information Services program, a statewide street outreach coordination program, and the Coordinated Entry System, which provides a hotline that people experiencing homelessness can call to be connected to supportive services to get them off the street.

Haus of Codec is a direct services nonprofit organization offering housing services to youth ages 18-24 in Rhode Island, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Rapid Re-Housing. The organization specializes in serving LGBTQIA+ youth and has received HUD funding to provide essential wraparound and case management services that address mental health and access to critical care for this population. 

Community Care Alliance is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center that provides behavioral health treatment, basic needs assistance, and family supportive services. CCA operates the 988 line for the state as well as the behavioral health triage system that connects individuals to appropriate levels of care. CCA has received numerous grant awards from HHS for such programs as early intervention and recovery support for adolescents with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, and primary care coordination for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. The organization has also received a variety of HUD funds to support individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness, including by providing housing identification, rent and move-in assistance, case management and support services.

 

Plaintiff Statements

 

Steven Brown, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island: “It is an injustice to take away critical funding for housing and other services for irrelevant, unlawful, and ideologically driven reasons in a time when Rhode Island, and communities across the country, are experiencing a growing housing crisis. We are dedicated to ensuring the grant process is fair for all, and that organizations are not excluded for failing to comply with conditions that undermine the very statutes these federal agencies are supposed to be implementing.”

Lucy Rios, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV):
“These harmful funding conditions jeopardize decades of progress in how we care for survivors and prevent domestic violence. They attempt to strip away the principles of equity, inclusion, and truth that our services are built on. The data is clear: domestic violence is a public health crisis, it one of the leading drivers of homelessness for women and children, and it doesn’t affect us all equally. There are disparities based on identities like race, sexual orientation, immigration status, and gender identity that impact access to services and justice. In the middle of a housing crisis, restricting access to safe, affirming shelter is not only dangerous, it is devastating and will put lives at risk. These changes would force providers to make an impossible choice between federal support and their commitment to serving all survivors, especially those who are LGBTQ+, unhoused, or from Black and Brown communities. We will not abandon what we know works, and we will not turn our backs on those most impacted by violence.”

Jordan Day, Board President of House of Hope CDC:
“At House of Hope, we believe in the inherent dignity and rights of all people—especially those who are most vulnerable and often have the least access to the resources needed to advocate for themselves. The new federal contract requirements undermine those values by forcing providers like us to comply with restrictions that limit diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to essential care. We cannot, in good conscience, sign contracts that go against our mission. That’s why we’ve joined this lawsuit—to stand up for our community and defend the rights of those with the most to lose.”

Lisa Guillette, Executive Director of Foster Forward:
“Foster Forward is proud to stand alongside other organizations in defense of the young people and communities we serve. These new conditions jeopardize our ability to provide safe, inclusive, and essential services for the youth who count on us. We’re grateful to our legal partners, whose pro bono support is helping us uphold both the law and our values.”

Kim Simmons, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness:
“Homelessness cannot be solved without confronting the deep systemic disparities that make race, gender identity and background determining factors in who receives help and how they receive help. Prohibiting our ability to do this limits our ability to fulfill our mission.”

Michelle P. Taylor, Vice President of Social Health Services Community Care Alliance:

“Community Care Alliance is committed to preserving the rights of our most vulnerable community members and stand ready to defend any threats to the resources that connect people to basic needs for housing, food, and healthcare, including behavioral health.”

Julio E. Berroa, Executive Director of Haus of Codec:
” Haus of Codec is the only emergency housing provider in Rhode Island that exclusively specializes in providing care to LGBTQIA+ clients ages 18 – 24. Without these funds our program would cease to exist. The crucial and life saving services Haus of Codec provides has been a lifeline for our state that is experiencing a significant deficit in affordable housing and shelter beds for all populations. Losing these funds would mean more individuals would be returning to the streat and lose access to food, clothing, essential personal care products and the dignity that no person should live without.”

Amy Romero, Chief Legal Counsel of the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island:
“The Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island proudly represents six courageous Rhode Island nonprofits – and many others nationwide – who are confronting injustice in order to provide urgently needed safety, housing security, healthcare to vulnerable individuals and families, free from unlawful conditions.”

 

 

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