Join NLIHC’s next Tenant Talk Live! resident engagement webinar on Monday, June 1 at 6:00 pm ET (5 pm CT, 4 pm MT, 3 pm PT). Three HUD officials will provide updates and answer questions about HUD operations during the coronavirus pandemic. Register at: https://bit.ly/2XKZlGO
From HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) we will have Assistant Secretary Hunter Kurtz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Public Housing and Voucher Programs Danielle Bastarache, and several other PIH program specialists. From HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, we will have Director of the Office of Multifamily Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight Toby Halliday.
These officials will explain each office’s resident-oriented pandemic regulation waivers, Frequently Asked Questions (PIH), and Question & Answer documents (Multifamily). After the presenters explain HUD’s pandemic-related policies, we will pose questions to them based on those you provide when you register for the webinar. Also, please send NLIHC your questions and/or concerns about how your PHA or owner/management agent is carrying out or not carrying out pandemic-related operations (email [email protected]). We will ask HUD staff to respond live during the webinar, and you will have an opportunity to ask questions at that time.
Specifically, we would like to know:
- Is your PHA telling residents about the waivers it plans to use or is already using?
- Has your PHA or owner/manager distributed and posted PIH and Multifamily flyers explaining the CARES Act eviction moratorium?
- How is your PHA or owner/manager communicating with residents?
- Are they allowing residents to self-certify income?
- Are they allowing residents to conduct essential business with the PHA or owner/manager through phone calls, emails, and/or U.S. mail?
- Are there virtual meetings?
- What about residents who don’t have access to electronic media?
See this link for more on NLIHC’s concerns with PIH’s existing waivers and Multifamily Q&As. The waivers are only optional, and the Q&As are not required either. We think the PIH and Multifamily should require PHAs and owner/managers to address the issues in that document.
Tenant Talk Live! is a biweekly call/webinar with resident leaders from across the country that provides opportunities for residents to connect with NLIHC and one another; to share best practices; and to learn how to be more involved in influencing federal housing policies and to lead in their community.
The last Tenant Talk Live call took place on May 11 and included updates from NLIHC staff and Section 3 expert Keith Swiney from Motivation, Inc.
NLIHC is committed to connecting and engaging with resident leaders in new, more robust ways. If you are a resident and have a topic you would like to propose for peer-sharing or if you want to be a speaker on an upcoming call/webinar, please email Kyle Arbuckle ([email protected]) or Renee Willis ([email protected]).