NLIHC recently released two additional new resources on coronavirus, housing and homelessness: an ongoing list of shelters for people experiencing homelessness that have closed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and a factsheet on how nonprofit affordable housing providers might use resources from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help cover administrative and operating costs.
Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. NLIHC is tracking shelter closings and will keep this resource updated as new information becomes available.
Providers of affordable housing have also been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Affordable housing providers must contend with increased operating and administrative costs coupled with a decrease in rental income as more renters experience reduced work hours or job losses. The “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act” created new programs and expanded eligibility for existing SBA programs to help provide assistance to small businesses and non-profit organizations economically impacted by the pandemic. NLIHC developed a resource to help non-profit providers of affordable housing understand how they might use funding from these programs to cover payroll and other expenses, including cleaning costs associated with helping providers maintain hygiene standards recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (While the principal SBA loan program is currently out of funds, Congress is working to allocate additional resources to the program.)
View the list of shelter closings at: https://nlihc.org/shelter-closings
Read the factsheet on SBA loan programs at: https://bit.ly/3ahQRuO