Additional Coronavirus Updates – Monday, June 8, 2020

Jun 08, 2020

National Updates

Congress

The Colorado Sun published an op-ed by Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) urging Congress to address the housing crisis in the next relief package. In addition to drawing from proposals in the “Evictions Crisis Act,” which he introduced with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) in December, 2019, Senator Bennet proposed including $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, $20 billion to fight homelessness and expand vouchers, and increased resources for state and local governments.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) spoke at a virtual roundtable on the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stability Act” hosted by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), an NLIHC state partner.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced on June 4 a temporary new policy that provides guidance for lenders to obtain FHA insurance endorsement on mortgages in which the borrower has requested or obtained a COVID-19 forbearance.

FEMA

FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor released a letter to emergency managers announcing a new “All-Hazards Preparedness in a Pandemic Exercise Starter Kit” to help communities prepare for hurricane season and other hazards during the coronavirus pandemic.

Advocacy

The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition continues to advocate a broad array of resources and protections, including emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention assistance, a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and emergency funds for homelessness service providers, housing authorities, and housing providers. For more information, see DHRC’s full list of recommendations.

A Reuters article explores how protests over race and policing are driven in part by housing inequities exacerbated by COVID-19. “A direct line connects America’s history of racist housing policies to today’s over-policing and disinvestment in black and brown communities,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel. “That same line connects to racial inequities in housing and to people of color being disproportionately harmed by disasters.”

MarketWatch quoted NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in an article on the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on people of color and how COVID-19 will create even more racial disparities in housing. “Without focused action, the pending tsunami of evictions and homelessness will disproportionately affect Black and brown people,” said Yentel.

NLIHC Vice President of Public Policy Sarah Saadian joined the Power Station podcast on June 1, addressing how NLIHC mobilizes a diverse constituency of residents, local housing and homeless coalitions, and state, local, and national leaders to ensure critical housing and homelessness resources are included in federal coronavirus relief packages.

Reporting

An article in Forbes on housing inequality and racism in the U.S. quotes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments during NLIHC’s national call on June 2. “Housing security is a matter of justice, as structural racism puts communities of color unfairly at risk of being rent burdened or homeless,” said Speaker Pelosi. The piece outlines a brief history of racial discrimination in U.S. housing policies.

An article in Nonprofit Quarterly examines the impending eviction crisis. “Small landlords and renters depend on each other,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel, “and both need emergency assistance to stay afloat during this time.”

Yahoo! News examines how the coronavirus pandemic highlights housing inequality faced by Black Americans. Black communities are disproportionately impacted by the virus and by its economic fallout. Job losses from COVID-19 risk exacerbate housing inequities already faced by Black communities.

An article in the Nation discusses how cities across the county have established rental assistance programs using a mix of federal, state, and local funding. In nearly every instance, the need for assistance has significantly overwhelmed supply. The article discusses the $100 billion in emergency rental assistance included in the HEROES Act.

An article in Quartz discusses how COVID-19 has upended Florida’s long, slow recovery from the 2018 hurricane season. The article examines how Bay County’s recovery from Hurricane Michael demonstrates how natural disasters leave low-income communities exposed to a range of compounding impacts.

NPR discusses how millions of Americans are struggling to pay rent, mortgage, auto loans, and other critical bills. Federal relief has kept some impending financial disasters at bay for now, but a tidal wave of evictions and mortgage defaults looms.

New York Times reports troubling signs that renters are increasingly struggling to come up with money for rent, creating significant challenges for tenants and landlords. “Small landlords and renters depend on each other, and both need emergency assistance to stay afloat during this time,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel.

Washington Post posted an article answering frequently asked questions that renters and homeowners have about eviction and foreclosure moratoriums.

An article in Forbes examines how the enhanced unemployment benefit of $600 per week is critical to helping people in low-paying jobs afford their rent. The HEROES Act would extend the $600 per week supplement until next year and provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance for low-income tenants.

Houston Chronicle reports that renters and mortgage holders are often unaware of federal aid.

CNN reports a looming surge in evictions as state eviction moratoriums expire. While some states have established rental assistance programs, significant federal rental assistance is needed to prevent a housing crisis for renters and property owners.

An article in Foreign Policy examines whether hotels are the most effective solution to the U.S. housing and homelessness crisis.

USA Today spoke with policy associates at the Urban Institute about the estimated 10 million people across the country who are entitled to federal stimulus checks but have not been able to access the money. People in this hard-to-reach category do not make enough money to file a tax return and do not receive federal benefits, so the government has no contact information for them.

More than a dozen states have allowed eviction proceedings to resume, and by the beginning of June, more than half of states will have no tenant protections in place. According to Marketplace, without an additional federal stimulus package that includes critical housing provisions, the U.S. will experience a sharp increase in housing instability and homelessness.

An article in CityLab examines how the expiration of state eviction moratoriums has revealed the limits of tenant protections at the local, state, and federal level. The moratoriums are expiring before federal interventions are in place, and without immediate action, the U.S. will be facing a housing crisis significantly larger than the one that existed prior to the pandemic.

State and Local News

Alabama

The City of Gadsden established a new utility assistance program to help residents who have fallen behind on utility payments due to COVID-19. The program will be funded by Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds.

Alaska

The Ben Boeke Ice Arena in Anchorage, which has served as an emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, closed on June 1. The Dempsey-Anderson Arena, which had been converted to an isolation and quarantine facility for people experiencing homelessness, was also demobilized on June 1.

Arizona

The Tucson City Council approved a plan to distribute $95.7 million in federal CARES Act funding, including $5 million for utility, rent, and mortgage assistance. The city also approved $5 million in federal funding to provide isolation and quarantine housing for people experiencing homelessness and to install wash stations and portable toilets.

Eviction hearings in Pima County resumed on June 1, with nearly 600 scheduled over the next several weeks. While Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s March 24 executive order allows tenants facing eviction due to COVID-19-related hardships to ask judges for a temporary reprieve, advocates are expressing the urgent need for emergency rental assistance.

Nearly 11,000 Arizona renters have applied for assistance from the state’s COVID-19 Rental Eviction Prevention Assistance Program that was established two months ago. To date, only 600 have received assistance, according to the Arizona Department of Housing. Joan Serviss, executive director of the Arizona Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, fears that if people are evicted now, affordable housing will simply not be available.

California

An article in the Los Angeles Times discusses how curfews put in place due to the protests over police brutality have created additional challenges for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Although Los Angeles County’s notice exempted people experiencing homelessness from the curfew, alerts provided contradictory and confusing information.

The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) will offer free COVID-19 testing to people experiencing homelessness in southeast San Francisco. The effort is part of UCSF’s collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the state of California, and impacted communities. Organizers hope to test 1,000 people over two days.

The Gospel Center Rescue Mission quickly transformed a home in Stockton that was originally purchased as housing for people experiencing homelessness into an eight-bed, temporary facility for men experiencing homelessness who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council urged the city and state to increase the use of hotels and motels to shelter people experiencing homelessness. The council believes that Project Roomkey is moving too slowly, and that Los Angeles should take steps to expedite the room-securing process.

An op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle discusses that while the coronavirus itself does not discriminate in who it infects, our social structures do. The authors argue that providing shelter in vacant hotel rooms is the most effective way to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Sacramento County has, without completing the typical process of seeking public input and City Council approvals, converted three motels into temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. While the leases for the motels do not contain purchase agreements, local officials are working on a plan to provide permanent housing for the individuals staying in motels after the pandemic is over.

Several weeks after Oakland opened 67 trailers on a vacant lot to house people experiencing homelessness, some residents are complaining of water, electrical, and safety issues that have sent two people to the hospital. An Oakland spokesperson said that the city and service providers are working to fix these issues.

The Fullerton Armory’s replacement shelter has become the second homeless shelter in Orange County to experience an outbreak of coronavirus cases. People who tested positive were moved into the county’s motel sheltering program.

Colorado

Cathy Alderman of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, an NLIHC state partner, wrote a letter to the editor of the Sentinel Colorado urging Congress to provide emergency rental assistance to keep Coloradans safe and stably housed.

While every state in the Mountain West has some type of rental assistance program in place, housing advocates hope that these programs receive funding to keep pace with the ongoing need.

Florida

Brevard County’s Board of County Commissioners allocated $4.4 million in federal CARES Act funds to help eligible residents with mortgage, rent, utility, and security deposit assistance. The financial assistance was made available on May 21.

The City of Palm Bay implemented an Eviction Prevention/Rental and Utility Assistance Program for residents impacted by COVID-19. The city’s Housing and Community Development Division will administer the program.

Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on June 1 that extends Florida’s eviction moratorium until July 1, 2020.

Illinois

COVID-19 is challenging the capacity of Covenant House Illinois, a Chicago shelter that serves teens experiencing homelessness. The number of individuals served has increased by about 50% amid the pandemic.

Indiana

An editorial in the Journal Gazette calls on Indiana officials to establish a statewide rental assistance program using a portion of the $2.4 billion in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars. Fort Wayne invested $150,000 from its CARES Act allocation to launch the Tenant Assistance Legal Clinic to prevent evictions. The city also has a $200,000 rental assistance fund.

Prosperity Indiana, an NLIHC state partner, released an update on the COVID-19-related housing and rental assistance needs of Hoosiers. The report urges state policymakers to establish and fund a rental assistance program to prevent a wave of evictions and homelessness when the state eviction moratorium expires on June 30.

The City of Terre Haute is using $300,000 of its CARES Act funding to establish a day center for people experiencing homelessness. Modeled after a program in Illinois, the Pathways Day Center will offer people experiencing homelessness a range of services provided by several service organizations.

Iowa

Governor Kim Reynolds announced creation of the COVID-19 Iowa Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program, which will be funded through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. Iowa will allocate $2.15 million toward relief for businesses and families.

Cedar Rapids allocated $623,757 in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds to establish an eviction prevention program that launched on May 29. “The Mayor and City Council recognized early on that housing assistance would be a critical need for many Cedar Rapids residents during this time,” said Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz.

Cedar Falls will receive an additional $160,000 in Community Development Block Grant and HOME funding to help maintain affordable housing and prevent homelessness during COVID-19.

Kentucky

Louisville, Lexington, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky will receive more than $23 million in Emergency Solutions Grants - Coronavirus (ESG-CV). “We commend Congress’ allocation of COVID-19 resources from the CARES Act to support people experiencing homelessness with shelter, prevent families from losing their homes to eviction, front-end rental assistance,” said Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, an NLIHC state partner.

Louisiana

HousingNOLA, an NLIHC state partner, launched the COVID-19 Short Term Rental Pilot Program to provide temporary housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity during the pandemic.

The Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center has COVID-19 housing resources available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Representative Garret Graves (R-LA) announced that Baton Rouge will receive $1.65 million in Emergency Solutions Grants - Coronavirus (ESG-CV) funding to support people experiencing homelessness. Statewide, Louisiana has received nearly $21 million in ESG-CV funding.

The city of Monroe allocated approximately $436,000 in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding to a small business assistance program and an emergency rental/mortgage assistance program. The city has received over 100 requests for small business assistance and over 450 applications for rental and mortgage assistance. The director of Monroe’s Planning and Urban Development said that if the HEROES Act is passed, the city may receive additional funds that would allow it to reopen the assistance programs.

Maine

Maine is collaborating with housing and homeless advocates to restructure the state’s network of emergency housing programs and shelters. According to the director of MaineHousing, COVID-19 has demonstrated the inadequacy of the state’s shelter system.

Massachusetts

Boston launched a $3 million emergency rental assistance two months ago, and more than 8,000 people have applied for assistance. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh will allocate an additional $5 million to the city’s Rental Relief Fund, with the additional funds coming from 50% of Boston’s Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds. The other 50% of the city’s CDBG-CV funds was allocated to small businesses.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued guidance to protect individuals who are living in long-term hotels and motels from being removed during state of emergency. She stated that hotels, motels, and other establishments that are housing at-risk populations, such as people experiencing homelessness, should not force these guests to leave for non-essential reasons during the pandemic.

A Boston homeless shelter, Pine Street Inn, reported a far lower rate of positive coronavirus tests in its latest round of testing. After testing found a 36% positive rate for the 408 people tested at the shelter in April, city officials have worked with Health Care for the Homeless and the state to test all residents at the city’s emergency shelters.

Minnesota

Minneapolis community activists have turned a former Sheraton hotel into a shelter for people experiencing homelessness who have been displaced by the protests and curfews. Many of the residents came from a nearby encampment that was cleared last Thursday due to its proximity to the protests.

Missouri

St. Louis County is making available an additional $5 million in federal CARES Act funding to provide rental assistance, mortgage assistance, and support to people experiencing homelessness.

Nevada

Las Vegas advocates are concerned that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on an important piece of Nevada legislation that would have secured millions of dollars to fight homelessness.

New York

The New York state legislature approved the “Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020” (S. 8419), which would establish a $100 million rental assistance fund using resources from CARES Act. The bill heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo for his signature.

New York City has implemented a citywide curfew through the morning of Monday, June 8. The Coalition for the Homeless, an NLIHC state partner, and the Legal Aid Society prepared a “Know Your Rights” flyer about the curfew for people experiencing homelessness.

An article in Curbed discusses the challenges facing New York renters who are vulnerable to eviction. Governor Andrew Cuomo extended New York’s eviction moratorium until August 20, but the two-month extension of the moratorium, beginning June 20, only applies to renters who qualify for unemployment benefits or have suffered financial hardship due to COVID-19.

An opinion piece in City Limits calls on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to address the short- and long-term safety and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness, instead of policies that criminalize and pathologize these individuals. The #HomelessCantStayHome campaign is urging Mayor de Blasio to provide a minimum of 30,000 hotel rooms for people experiencing homelessness, which could be paid for primarily through federal funding.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has asked developers to voluntarily rent out additional apartments to families experiencing homelessness. Nine developers have agreed to rent units, resulting in 200 families who will receive their own apartments. HPD commissioners have expressed that COVID-19 has pushed the city to develop solutions to move families experiencing homelessness out of the shelter system.

North Carolina

Advocates are calling on local, state, and federal officials to provide rental assistance as the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office resumes serving eviction notices after a 10-week moratorium. Local organizations are urging the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to fund a rental assistance program using some of its $93 million in CARES Act funding.

North Dakota

The YWCA Cass Clay began weekly mass testing of residents and staff at the Emergency Shelter on June 4, and it will continue to do so each week for the foreseeable future. The YWCA Emergency Shelter is the largest shelter serving women and children in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.

Ohio

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced the establishment of the Toledo COVID-19 Emergency Renter Assistance Fund (ERAF) on May 28. The city is allocating $1 million in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding and an additional $1 million from the COVID-19 Emergency Solutions Grant to fund the rental assistance program. The ERAF will assist approximately 700 eligible households with up to three months of rent payments.

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, an NLIHC state partner, held a housing and homelessness roundtable with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on June 3 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and the importance of supporting renters who are struggling to maintain housing during the pandemic.

The Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund coalition awarded another round of biweekly grants totaling $977,000 for 19 local nonprofit groups. One nonprofit received $50,000 to provide emergency rental assistance, and another received $70,000 to provide housing and related support to at-risk individuals and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability.

Oregon

The Portland City Council unanimously approved an allocation of $8.35 million for rental assistance to residents impacted by the pandemic. The emergency assistance was approved as part of the mayor’s budget, which reallocates $4.5 million in existing federal funds to rent assistance and an additional $3.85 million in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds.

Pennsylvania

Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation on May 29 allocating $175 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars for a COVID Relief Mortgage and Rental Assistance Program and an additional $10 million for Homeless Assistance Grants.

The Philadelphia City Council held its first public hearing on the “Emergency Housing Protection Act'' (EHPA) on May 29 and will hold an additional public hearing session on June 5. The EHPA is a combination of six bills and one resolution to protect renters from losing their homes as a result of COVID-19. The Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and Homelessness will also vote on presenting the package to City Council at-large.

Protesters staged a funeral procession on May 31 outside the home of the director of the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services to urge the city to take action to protect people living with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness from COVID-19. The protest was organized by the Philadelphia chapters of Disabled in Action/ADAPT and ACT UP.

Texas

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) announced that the City of Lubbock will receive $1.38 million in Emergency Solution Grants - Coronavirus (ESG-CV) funding. The funds will support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities. San Antonio and Bexar County will receive a total of $14.8 million in ESG-CV funding.

The City of Waco and the Economic Opportunities Advancement Corporation have established a rental assistance program to provide families impacted by COVID-19 with up to three months of rent or mortgage payments.

The Bryan City Council allocated an additional $148,459 from the CARES Act to provide direct relief services to low- and moderate-income households. The city also reallocated $75,000 in Home Investment Partnership Program funds to the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program to help tenants impacted by the pandemic.

Washington

Governor Jay Inslee announced on June 4 that Washington has enough COVID-19 tests to expand testing to new populations, including those living in congregate settings, such as agricultural sites, long-term care facilities, low-income housing, and homeless shelters.

On June 2, Governor Inslee modified and extended Washington's eviction moratorium through August 1. Read Proclamation 20-19.2.

The Grays Harbor County Board of Health decided that the temporary encampment behind Aberdeen City Hall does not qualify as a necessary public health response to COVID-19 and, as a result, does not qualify for any of the $390,000 that the state provided the county for housing relief.

West Virginia

Advocates in West Virginia note that COVID-19 has brought communities together to address housing instability and homelessness. The West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, an NLIHC state partner, has focused on meeting the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, and on the longer-term solutions.

West Virginia will be awarded $7.1 million in Emergency Solutions Grants - Coronavirus (ESG-CV) to prepare and respond to COVID-19 among individuals experiencing homelessness. The city of Huntington will also receive $559,361 in ESG-CV funds.

Wisconsin

Nearly 50 eviction filings were filed in Wisconsin courts on May 26, even though the statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium was still in effect until the end of the day. Governor Tony Evers announced the creation of the Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program, a $25 million program funded through the CARES Act.

Wyoming

Governor Mark Gordon approved allocation of $15 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to establish an eviction prevention program overseen by the Wyoming Community Development Authority.

Guidance

Department of Agriculture

USDA Rural Development COVID-19 Resources - Updated May 29

Department of Housing and Urban Development

HOPWA Program CARES Act Eviction Moratorium FAQs - June 4

FAQs for Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities - updated June 1

How Does the Federal CARES Act Eviction Moratorium Impact the ESG and CoC Programs? FAQs and Flyer - June 1

Office of Native American Programs: COVID-19 FAQs for Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities, Round 5 - updated June 1

COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Landlord Engagement - June 1

COVID-19 FAQs for Public Housing Agencies, Version 4 - updated May 29