A bipartisan coalition of mayors and city officials across the country sent a letter on March 23 urging Congressional leaders to include funding to assist low-income households and people experiencing homelessness in the COVID-19 response bill.
Led by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the letter called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to include $105 billion for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) homelessness assistance program and for emergency rental assistance in the third coronavirus supplemental appropriations bill.
“We are very concerned because our neighbors experiencing homelessness reside in public spaces and congregate in shelters, where they may have higher exposure to the virus,” the letter states. “We must prevent vulnerable individuals and families from becoming homeless. This means helping as many people as possible regain housing, so they neither contract nor spread the coronavirus, and supporting practices in shelters to limit the spread of the virus for those who are not housed.”
The letter is at: https://bit.ly/3bvbtko