A nationwide coalition of organizations serving domestic violence survivors and unhoused people — including six based in Rhode Island — is challenging new conditions on federal housing and violence prevention grants set by the Trump administration, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island announced Monday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Providence against five federal agencies and their respective agency heads involves 22 plaintiffs in 14 states and the District of Columbia. They are seeking to block stricter eligibility requirements revolving around the Trump administration’s efforts not to fund programs or organizations that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or what it dubs “gender ideology.”
The defendants include U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner.
Plaintiffs claim that HHS’ recent attempts to limit eligibility based on factors like diversity and gender identity is an unconstitutional maneuver that will imperil the people served by these groups, such as women and children experiencing homelessness. The plaintiffs want the court to vacate the new eligibility requirements. They are also seeking a temporary restraining order against HHS to free up funds for relevant programs.
“These harmful funding conditions jeopardize decades of progress in how we care for survivors and prevent domestic violence,” Lucy Rios, executive director of lead plaintiff Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said in a statement Monday. “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.”
The other five Rhode Island organizations listed include House of Hope Community Development Corporation, Community Care Alliance, Foster Forward, the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, and Haus of Codec.
The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence is joined in the lawsuit by domestic violence prevention groups in the District of Columbia and the following states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The groups rely at least partially on funding programs subject to new eligibility restrictions, which includes a range of federal grants administered by HHS and HUD, such as the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Continuum of Care Program, which subsidizes housing and other support services for survivors of domestic violence, LGBTQ+ youth, and other vulnerable populations.
Haus of Codec is the only emergency housing provider in Rhode Island that exclusively serves LGBTQIA+ clients between the ages of 18 and 24, according to a statement from its executive director, Julio E. Berroa.
“Without these funds our program would cease to exist,” Berroa wrote. “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 street and lose access to food, clothing, essential personal care products and the dignity that no person should live without.”
The HHS grant policy, updated in April, prescribes that grantees “do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI, DEIA, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws.” HUD lists similar requirements in its eligibility documentation.
The plaintiffs’ core complaints mirror those made in a similar case represented by the ACLU in March: that new stipulations placed on applications for federal arts grants essentially force applicants to make false claims on grant applications, or risk losing access to federal funds entirely if their organizations are deemed noncompliant. The new requirements leave the plaintiffs “in an impossible position,” the lawsuit argues.
According to the complaint, the Trump administration has “imposed these requirements in a manner expressly designed to expose grantees to civil and criminal liability under the False Claims Act.” The suit cites a May 19 memo from the U.S. Department of Justice that characterizes the False Claims Act as “the Justice Department’s primary weapon against government fraud, waste, and abuse.”
“Plaintiffs and their members genuinely fear that in performing their lawful activities, including in some cases those not funded by HHS or HUD funds, they will be accused of violating the New Conditions to which Defendants insist they agree,” the lawsuit reads. “This fear is amplified by the government’s stated goal to use the False Claims Act as a ‘weapon’ against grantees’ conduct.”
Representing the plaintiffs are Lynette Labinger for the ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island, Amy Romero and Mary Dunn for the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, Democracy Forward, Jacobson Lawyers Group, and the National Women’s Law Center. The lawsuit wants the court to vacate the new application requirements.
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
