What the “Big Ugly Bill” Means for Our Communities
- bossbayarea
- Jul 15
- 3 min read
A dangerous shift has happened in Congress. And the ones who will feel it first, and hardest, are the people we serve every day.
The bill that just passed is being called the "Big Ugly Bill" because that’s exactly what it is. Ugly in intention. Ugly in impact. It’s a sweeping piece of legislation that undermines federal support systems under the guise of economic responsibility, while disregarding the value of human life, dignity, and survival.
What’s inside it? Deep cuts to housing and homelessness programs. Funding pulled from mental health, harm reduction, and community-based violence prevention. Language that criminalizes poverty. Provisions that favor punishment over rehabilitation, and silence over systemic accountability.
It’s the kind of policy where they see budgets, not people.
A Familiar Wound Reopened
BOSS was built from the ashes of another failure. We came into existence over 50 years ago because state hospitals closed, and people with mental illness were left on the streets with nowhere to go. No support. No care. No plan. This moment is not new to us. But that doesn’t make it less devastating.
This bill is not a step backward; it’s a push off the cliff. And in a time when folks are already hanging on by a thread, the weight of this will be catastrophic.
Families who rely on emergency housing when the rent jumps $1,000 in one year.
Returning citizens are rebuilding their lives with job training and housing support after being released from incarceration.
Survivors of domestic violence seek refuge and stability.
Young adults caught between trauma and a system that blames them for what it created.
These are not abstract categories. These are our neighbors, friends, staff, clients and community.
Every tier of BOSS, housing, reentry, health and healing, and violence prevention is impacted by this legislation. Every program will be forced to stretch even further. And we already know there isn’t enough to go around.
California Can’t Shoulder This Alone
Local governments in California are trying to respond, but the pressure is enormous. Cities and counties are scrambling to identify what they can protect. But even the most progressive regions can only do so much when federal lifelines are severed. The question isn’t will there be harm, it’s how much, and to whom.
The burden falls again on the most marginalized. The people with the least room to “wait it out.” The people who have always been told to survive, no matter the cost.
How BOSS Responds
We do not look away. We do not pause our work to grieve. We push harder.
We organize with our community partners, alongside the people most affected, and with advocates who have been warning that this was coming.
We educate so people know what's happening.
We protect our programs and stay rooted in our values and the community.
We are already in touch with state and local leaders. We are already speaking with those most impacted. We are already adjusting our operations to fight for every inch of safety and stability for our people.
We have been here before. And every time, the climb back is longer, harder, and more violent than people remember. Those with privilege will feel discomfort. Those without it will feel destruction. However, the emotional, spiritual, and generational toll this takes on our community, the exhaustion, the hopelessness, the heartbreak, doesn’t appear on a budget line.
What Comes Next Depends on All of Us
There is no neutral position here. This bill is a clear declaration of what matters to those in power, and what doesn’t. So we make a declaration of our own.
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We know this terrain. But that doesn’t make it okay. We shouldn’t have to learn how to survive the same crisis dressed in different clothes. We are calling this moment what it is: state-sanctioned abandonment. And we are calling forward everyone ready to fight.
It’s Social Media Giving Day, and we’re calling on our community to invest in what’s working. At BOSS, we fight for housing, healing, safety, and justice. We walk with people navigating poverty, incarceration, violence, and reentry, because real change starts on the ground.
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