Coronavirus Working
Group/Calls

NLIHC is providing new opportunities for local, state, and national organizations to dive deeper into the critical issues facing our communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the past several weeks, NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) has been hosting weekly national calls to share information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people experiencing homelessness and America’s lowest-income renters, as well as the responses being carried out by federal, state, and local governments, homeless service providers, housing providers, and advocates. There has been enormous interest in these calls – each week, over 2,000-2,500 people have registered to participate – and we are hearing from our partners in communities across the nation who want additional opportunities to engage, share, learn from each other, and discuss further actions that are needed.

We invite you to continue to participate in our standing weekly national calls and working groups, as well as some new working groups we have created to address emerging issues related to the pandemic, housing and homelessness. Register for the national call and working groups below!

Schedule

  • Mondays

    DHRC National Coronavirus, Housing and Homelessness Calls 

    Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. EST

    On these DHRC national calls, we will hear from organizations in the field about pressing and emerging issues, learn more about the needs facing marginalized populations, share lessons learned and best practices, get updates from members of Congress and federal agencies, and provide other updates on federal resources and advocacy opportunities.

    • Welcome, Overview of New Information, Resources
      • Diane Yentel, National Low Income Housing Coalition
    • Intersection of Health and Housing during COVID-19
      • Dr. Megan Sandel, Children’s HealthWatch
    • State and Local Efforts to Address Housing Stability
      • Oregon State Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer
    • Field Updates
      • Tara Rollins, Utah Housing Coalition
      • Gavin Thornton, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
      • Randy Shaw, San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic
    • Home Repair Organizations, COVID-19 and Declining Volunteer Availability
      • Becca Davis, Reframe
    • Needs of Survivors of Domestic Violence
      • Renee Williams, National Housing Law Project
    • Update and Needed Action on Advancing our Priorities in Next Coronavirus Spending Bill
      • Sarah Saadian, NLIHC
      • Joey Lindstrom, NLIHC
    • Leveraging the Media
      • Jos Linn, RESULTS
    • Updates from COVID-19 Working Groups
      • Noah Patton, NLIHC, “Working with FEMA” Work Group
      • Kim Johnson, NLIHC, “State and Local Implementation” Work Group
    • Questions, Answers, Next Steps

    Register Here

     

    "Tenant Talk Live” for Resident Leaders 

    Monday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m. EST

    Tenant Talk Live calls/webinars provide opportunities for residents to connect with NLIHC and one another, to share best practices, and to learn how to be more involved in influencing federal housing policies and to lead in their communities.  Normally held once every other month, Tenant Talk Live is now being offered more frequently to inform and learn from resident leaders about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting their lives and how they are responding.

    The next Tenant Talk Live call/webinar is scheduled for Monday, June 1.

    • From the HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) we will have:
      • Dominique Blom, General Deputy Assistant Secretary
      • Danielle Bastarache, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Public Housing and Voucher Programs
    • From the HUD Office of Multifamily Housing Programs we will have:
      • Toby Halliday, Director of the Office of Multifamily Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight

    These officials will explain each office’s resident-oriented pandemic regulation waivers and FAQs (PIH) and Q&As (Multifamily). After they explain their pandemic-related policies, we will pose questions to them based on ones you provide NLIHC when you register for the webinar. Please send NLIHC your questions and/or concerns about how your PHA or owner/management agent is carrying out or not carrying out pandemic-related operations. We will ask HUD staff to respond live during the webinar, and you will have an opportunity to ask questions at that time too. 

    Write to [email protected]. We'd like to know:

    • Is your PHA telling residents about the waivers it plans to use or is already using?
    • Has your PHA or owner/manager distributed and posted the PIH and Multifamily flyers explaining the CARES Act eviction moratorium?
    • How is your PHA or owner/manager communicating with residents?
      • Are they allowing residents to self-certify income?
      • Are they allowing residents to conduct essential business with the PHA or owner/manager through phone calls, emails, and/or U.S. mail?
      • Are there virtual meetings? 
      • What about residents who don’t have access to electronic media?

    (See this link for more on NLIHC’s concerns with PIH’s existing waivers and Multifamily’s Q&As. The waivers are only optional, and the Q&As are not requirements either. We think the PIH and Multifamily should require PHAs and owner/managers to address the issues in the attachment.)

    Register Here

  • Tuesdays

    Legislative Working Group 

    Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. EST

    The DHRC legislative working group focuses on the strategies and tactics needed to move legislation forward in Congress, including the DHRC’s policy recommendations for the next federal coronavirus-response package. These calls are best suited for those who regularly engage in federal advocacy.

    *This call is closed to the press and will not be recorded.

    Register for the Legislative Working Group at:  https://bit.ly/3euCRkX 

    Working with FEMA Working Group 

    Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. EST

    The FEMA working group provides an opportunity to share lessons learned and best practices for organizations working with FEMA to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. The working group will benefit from the DHRC’s years-long experience working with FEMA on past disasters and will help identify federal policy changes needed to improve FEMA’s disaster homelessness and housing recovery efforts.

    The first Working with FEMA working group call is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21.

    *This call is closed to the press and will not be recorded.

    Register at: https://bit.ly/34Efwsa

  • Wednesdays

    State/Local Implementation Working Group 

    Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. EST

    The state and local implementation working group will provide opportunities to share lessons learned and best practices as organizations work to respond to the housing needs of people experiencing homelessness and the lowest-income renters. This working group will track how federal resources provided under the CARES Act, including HUD funding, unemployment insurance, and stimulus checks, are reaching those individuals with the greatest needs and will identify needed policy changes. Participants will also share practical guidance on how to use this opportunity to address racial equity issues and serve marginalized populations, including people with criminal records and undocumented immigrants.

    The first state/local implementation working group call is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22.

    *This call is closed to the press and will not be recorded.

    Register at: https://bit.ly/2RDzAWk

    CHCDF/DHRC Webinar on CARES Act and Homelessness/Affordable Housing

    Wednesday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET

    Join members of NLIHC’s Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding and Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition on April 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET for a webinar on opportunities for advocates and state and local governments to meet the immediate and long-term housing needs of low-income communities and people experiencing homelessness.

    Find Webinar Recording Here

  • Thursdays

    Puerto Rico Working Group 

    Every other Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EST

    The Puerto Rico working group has been meeting since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the island and has continued through the recent earthquakes and now the pandemic. This working group is facilitated by the DHRC, but it is led by advocates and organizations working in Puerto Rico.

    *This call is closed to the press and will not be recorded.

    Register for the Puerto Rico working group at:  https://bit.ly/2XD8HG4

  • Fridays

    Long-Term Solutions Working Group 

    Fridays at 3:00 p.m. EST, beginning May 8

    The working group on long-term solutions will focus on ways to redesign America’s broken federal disaster housing recovery efforts. DHRC published a report outlining many of the ways in which the federal disaster housing response framework reinforces racial, income, and accessibility inequities, and last fall, the DHRC held an in-person two-day convening with 70 of our most active partners to brainstorm ways to reimagine a federal disaster housing framework that centers on the needs of people of color, people with disabilities, America’s lowest-income households, and other marginalized individuals. This working group will identify policy changes that are needed in a large-scale coronavirus response package and other reforms to ensure resources reach those individuals with the greatest needs.

    *This call is closed to the press and will not be recorded.

    Register at: https://bit.ly/34CkCFm

Past Work Group/Calls