RESPONDING TO COVID-19: ENSURING HOUSING STABILITY
Housing and Health:
|
CURRENT: Triage CareIn a medical emergency, you must quickly assess the situation and resources at your disposal. In terms of housing stability, our community works the same way. We are assessing our community’s capacity to protect people experiencing homelessness from acquiring or transmitting COVID-19. We’re also working closely with communities across the state to navigate the patchwork of eviction moratoriums and connect those impacted by COVID-19 with eviction prevention and rental assistance to allow them to remain stably housed.
|
FUTURE: Preventive CareOur response must be dually focused. We must meet immediate needs as well as address the structural deficits in our affordable housing supply to keep people stably housed and address homelessness. This is the area where our community, membership, and collective thought leaders really shine: We know how to do this work. We have the data for practical solutions. We understand the barriers that existed before the pandemic, and we are a highly adaptive and resilient workforce that can nimbly meet the challenges the pandemic presents.
|
|
PAST: AnamnesisJust like a doctor reviews your medical history, we can look to past challenges the affordable housing and homelessness service community has faced, like the 2008 housing crisis. During that time, our community adopted new approaches - fueled by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - which increased funding through HUD’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP). The innovation implemented during that time is now a proven best practice: Rapid Re-housing. When the HPRP funding decreased, the new methodology used to rapidly move individuals and families from shelter or emergency situations into housing with short-term financial assistance remained. Imagine what innovative approach to addressing housing instability this crisis will bring.
|
PrognosisWhat we at the Arizona Housing Coalition are confident will come out of the COVID-19 response is the trust that our statewide Coalition knows how to “triage” and deliver “preventive” solutions to housing instability. We just need the financial resources and political will to make this a reality. With this in mind, the Coalition has and will continue to advocate with our elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to acquire the necessary funding to ensure every individual and family in Arizona has a home.
|
Responding to COVID-19: Policy Platforms
Funding Allocations, Information & Assistance Programs
©
2019. Arizona Housing Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Federal Tax ID#: 86-0909029