Representative Thanedar (D-MI) Introduces BLANKET Act to Further Protections for People Experiencing Homelessness During Severe Weather Emergencies
Jun 22, 2026
By Sarita Kelkar, NLIHC Policy Intern
On June 11, Representative Shri Thanedar (D-MI) introduced the “Building Local Access for Needs in Key Emergency Temperatures Act.” Known as the “BLANKET Act,” this piece of legislation provides resources for unhoused people in periods of severe weather emergencies, to be distributed by public housing agencies (PHAs), nonprofits, or state and local governments. Authorizing more than $2 billion in grants for the duration of three years, the “BLANKET Act” creates this funding by amending a section of the “McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act”—the bill responsible for producing key homeless assistance programs that provide critical housing and service supports. NLIHC endorsed the “BLANKET Act,” which aligns with principles of NLIHC, the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), and NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home Campaign (OSAH).
As the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, an OSAH partner, notes, “People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) and people who are unstably housed and living on the margins are particularly vulnerable to environmental or weather events and climate change due to the lack of access to financial resources, protective shelter, equipment, and clothing.” Moreover, climate change spurs severe weather scenarios like hotter temperatures and the intensification and prevalence of natural disasters—often leaving the lowest-income people, including those without shelter, the hardest-hit with the fewest resources for recovery and mitigation efforts. Rep. Thanedar’s bill is a key opportunity to administer financial support to people experiencing homelessness in the face of environmental consequences growing in frequency: especially amidst the persistent need to further pathways to assistance for populations disproportionately affected by such events.
Read about the “BLANKET Act” here and access the bill text here.
Learn more about existing homeless assistance programs in Chapter 4 of NLIHC’s Advocates’ Guide 2026.
Read about NLIHC's Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition’s efforts to advance housing justice here.