NLIHC released a new report and set of resources on June 9 showing how states and localities are leveraging Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to invest in affordable housing and homelessness prevention and services. The new report, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Initial Trends in Housing Investments, documents how jurisdictions are using the $350 billion SLFRF program to keep families housed during the pandemic, tackle the growing homelessness crisis, and develop affordable housing to address the root causes of housing instability and homelessness. A new webpage makes available to the public data from NLIHC’s SLFRF database and includes an interactive map identifying state and local housing investments with SLFRF, along with other resources for housing advocates and policymakers.
NLIHC is systematically tracking SLFRF investments allocated for affordable housing and homelessness prevention and services in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 60 localities, including the 10 cities or counties receiving the highest allotments of SLFRF and the largest city or county in every state. As of April 2022, 54 of the 112 jurisdictions (48%) in the sample had allocated more than $13.5 billion for housing activities, including over half of all states and over 41% of the selected cities and counties.
The report also shows that states and localities have allocated SLFRF toward a wide range of housing activities, with the most funds going toward affordable housing development, short-term aid to households, and homelessness prevention. The report highlights 35 jurisdictions that have allocated over $5 billion to acquire, construct, and preserve affordable housing; 38 jurisdictions that have allocated approximately $3.9 billion for rental and utility assistance, legal aid, housing navigators, housing counseling, case management, and other household assistance; and 33 jurisdictions that have allocated approximately $1.3 billion for rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, hotel conversions, street outreach, and emergency shelters.
The new SLFRF program webpage includes additional resources and tools to help housing advocates and policymakers better understand the types of housing investments jurisdictions are prioritizing. The page includes an interactive map and searchable table that detail the various housing programs set up or funded via SLFRF in the jurisdictions tracked, highlight total funding allocated for housing, and describe the target populations served with this historic infusion of federal funds. These tools can be used to inform advocacy efforts as elected officials make decisions on how to allocate the second tranche of SLFRF, which will be disbursed in the coming weeks.
“With rents skyrocketing, homelessness increasing, pandemic rental assistance ending and federal action on solutions increasingly unlikely, some state and local governments are using a combined $14 billion in State and Local Fiscal Relief Funds to get and keep people stably housed. More communities should quickly follow their lead,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of NLIHC. “The housing and homelessness crises demand urgent action – policymakers must use the unique opportunity presented with SLFRF to fund solutions for the lowest income renters and people experiencing homelessness.”
Visit NLIHC’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program webpage at: https://bit.ly/3aQgQj4
View NLIHC’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Database at: https://bit.ly/SLFRF-database
Read the report, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Initial Trends in Housing Investments, at: https://bit.ly/3tpC0eg