A group of 26 national and regional organizations, led by NLIHC, sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them release substantial resources and enact other measures to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and to help ensure housing stability for low-income individuals during the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Given the scope and severity of the crisis, the letter asks congress to take immediate action “to protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness and our nation’s lowest-income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and other individuals.”
The letter notes that people without shelter are at a particularly high risk of COVID-19 infection and urges Congress to include billions of dollars in HUD Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) in its emergency spending package to help move as many individuals without shelter into housing as quickly as possible, to support infection-prevention practices in shelters, and to prevent an increase in homelessness during the pandemic. The letter further urges Congress to provide rental assistance and eviction prevention tools as well as to issue a national moratorium on foreclosures and evictions to keep people stably housed. The groups also asks for additional resources to ensure public housing agencies and HUD housing providers have sufficient resources to keep residents safe and healthy.
Read the full letter at: https://bit.ly/2U13Hsq
Learn more about NLIHC’s policy recommendations for the COVID-19 pandemic at: https://bit.ly/2xNusYI