| By Big Radio News Staff |
One Janesville nonprofit explains how a federal funding freeze would affect its operations.
Jessica Locher, executive director of ECHO, says her organization receives about half a million dollars a year in federal grants.
Locher says that money goes toward housing and homeless services. In 2024, one program paid out $340,000 in rent assistance and an estimated $120,000 for emergency lodging at area motels.
Federal grants also cover the cost of ECHO’s street outreach program where staffers hit the pavement to connect unhoused people with available services.
Without the federal funding, ECHO would have two options: cover those costs through more community support or cut the programming.
“If we cut those programs and don’t try to fill that with donated dollars, that’s over 50 households that’ll become homeless that are currently in apartments,” Locher said.
And ECHO is just one of several local organizations doing this work. Locher estimates there are eight other Rock County groups helping families through the use of federal dollars.
A federal judge paused President Donald Trump’s order to freeze the funding until next week.
