Colleagues,

National
1.  The Housing Executive Order issued by the White House last Sunday is NOT an eviction moratorium.  It does NOT extend the federal eviction moratorium that expired July 27.  
Here's some of the language:

“The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of CDC shall consider whether any measures temporarily halting residential evictions of any tenants for failure to pay rent are reasonably necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 from one State or possession into any other State or possession,” 

There is no new money provided.  Rather the secretary of Treasury and the secretary of Housing and Urban Development can identify “any and all available federal funds” to provide temporary rental assistance to renters and homeowners who are facing financial hardships caused by COVID-19. 

Here's a Tweet from the National Housing Law Project Deputy Director Deobrah Thorpe - pretty much says it all:
The order outrageously asks HUD to look under the couch cushions to solve a massive housing crisis, said Deputy director Deborah Thrope . https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-10/trump-executive-order-isn-t-an-eviction-moratorium… via

2.  Ah, but there's more bad news: Secretary Carson Terminates 2015 AFFH Rule.  Looks pretty innocent doesn't it, until someone who actually understands what this means explains it - like Jorge Soto from the National Fair Housing Alliance on Wednesay's Washington Low Income Housing Alliance weekly COVID call- here's what they have to say: https://nationalfairhousing.org.  The final rule was published Aug. 7 and will take effect in 30 days.  You think it's hard now to find housing for people too long on the margins - just wait.  If HUD does not rescind this rule, our only recourse will be state and local jurisdiction protections.  

NFHA Statement Calling on HUD to Uphold the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Regulation and Rescind Its New Rule

The final rule published in the Federal Register today is a gross contradiction of the purpose of the Fair Housing Act and eliminates the best tool available to help localities address systemic discrimination.

The rule will take effect in 30 days. HUD employed stealth and questionable tactics to adopt this as a final rule, completely bypassing the standard public notice and comment period. This new rule, which replaces the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation, effectively removes all oversight by HUD and eliminates any meaningful requirement for jurisdictions to show they are addressing racial and other disparities. This blatant rollback of a long-standing and fundamental civil right comes at a time when our nation faces a triple pandemic — the COVID-19 health crisis, the ensuing economic crisis, and the crisis of racism that has plagued us for centuries.

3.  CDBG-CV Guidance is out.  This governs how the increased amounts of Community Development Block Grant money that Pierce County, the City of Tacoma, the City of Lakewood and the State of Washington (plus other entitlement jurisdictions in the state) can be used.  This is important because there are many federal waivers on the money - the public process has been shortened, the amount of money that can be used for public service (think human services) has been lifted.  This money could be used for rent assistance but the guidance is silent on using it for paying rent arrears.  This money has many procedural requirements but the net result is a six year life.  That gives us time to work with our local jurisdictions and the State about the best way to use this money.  It could, for example, be sued for rent assistance beginning Jan. 1, 2021 - after the CARES Act Relief Fund has ended.  We'll want to ask the jurisdictions to tell us how they plan to use this money and how we can help them make decisions.  We'll also want to watch the feds to see if there is another CARES Relief bill and if so, what is in it.  

4.  How to Take Action for Housing & HOmelessness: 
https://nlihc.org/coronavirus-and-housing-homelessness  Just hit that giant blue button.  Share this with your networks.  

State
1.  The Dept of Commerce continues to show up on the weekly WLIHA calls and continues to welcome contact from those of us engaged in homelessness in any way.  
2.  If you haven't done so, register for a Wednesday COVID meeting with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.  www.wliha.org and click on the gian red button.  

Local
1.  Rental assistance - we have a proliferation of rental assistance programs almost all of which are funded by CARES Act Relief Fund money all of which must be used by December 30, 2020.  All use of CARES Act Relief Fund money must be COVID-19 related.   That leaves out people who just plain don't have enough money to pay rent but aren't impacted by COVID-19.  I count:  MDC for City of Tacoma only, Pierce County Veterans Assistance, Pierce County Rental Assistance, City of Fircrest for Fircrest only, City of Lakewood for Lakewood only...I'm sure there are more...plus the big ERAP and Tacoma Community House programs coming online soon.

2.  Unsheltered people - What's the status of sweeps?  I know, the City of Tacoma doesn't call them sweeps.  Where are the Outreach Teams?  Are they getting people into shelter?  Into Housing?  Who's responsible for cooling centers and water when the temperature hits mid-90's on Sunday?

3.  Pierce County has an extension until Aug. 21 on its application for the $4.7M State Shelter grant.  This is NOT CARES Act related.  This grant is from the 2020 State Legislative Session.

Our Coalition & Advocacy
The question of how we want to handle advocacy going forward remains unanswered.  I have the recent list of folks who want to participate in a Zoom call.  I just haven't had the personal bandwidth necessary.  I think we need a separate group with its own name but nothing terribly formal; something that can act fast under its own name.  I've talked about it in the past but never done anything about it.  The Coalition can continue as it is - receiving information about advocacy opportunities and encouraging individuals and organizations to respond.  We can think about it more.

What's Important?
Every penny of CARES Act Relief Fund that can possibly be used to provide shelter, services, and housing for unsheltered people and people in shelters is used well.  We keep as many people housed as possible.  We support front line staff and secure the nonprofits in which they work.

That's it for now,
Be safe and thank you for your work,
Maureen


Maureen Howard
MaureenHowardConsulting
maureenhowardconsulting@gmail.com

Tel:  253-756-8146 (LL)
Cell:  253-255-2200
3320 S. 8th Street
Tacoma, WA 98405

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