By Solomon Greene, Martha Galvez, Corianne Payton Scally, et al., Housing Matters, April 22, 2020
The first weeks of the COVID-19 crisis have brought widespread unemployment that many believe will get worse, especially for low-income renters. State and local governments are on the front lines responding to the housing needs of households affected by COVID-19, but they are working without a clear playbook for delivering housing assistance at this unprecedented scale and are relying on local service delivery systems that were not designed to respond nimbly to surges in demand. Nevertheless, state and local governments are improvising and innovating—adapting existing housing assistance models and devising new ones to try and stabilize low-income households affected by COVID-19.
They face an uphill battle and sorely need more support from the federal government. But as state and local governments begin to mobilize funds already coming down through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and design their own policies and programs, they can look at past lessons and emerging approaches to meet the challenge.
What challenges do low-income renters face?
Comments (0)