America, We’re on the Verge of Another Crisis
As the slow grind of pandemic life wears on and we trudge deeper into the dark recesses of our Netflix account, our nation veers toward another national crisis.
In the U.S., more than 400,000 people died from COVID. No matter who you are, your life has been undeniably touched and irrevocably changed by the virus.
At best, many in the U.S. are cooped up, cabin feverish, and craving some TLC from their friends and family. As co-passengers on this “will it ever end?!” struggle bus, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we might in fact be the lucky ones.
The hard truth is that homelessness and housing instability is a crisis hidden in plain sight — one made all the worse by COVID. Unless drastic action is taken, our nation is on the brink of an unprecedented explosion in homelessness.
The number of people experiencing homelessness is growing
In the U.S., in a good year, there are more than 500,000 people experiencing homelessness. As of now, the full impact of COVID on the homeless population has yet to be calculated, but experts fear the worst. Early in the pandemic there was a boom of people seeking services from shelters around the country and many shelters were beyond capacity and failing to meet the growing need. Worryingly, this increased need has continued as much of our country enters the coldest months of the year.
Many shelters are closed or operating at limited capacity
Many organizations that provide services to people experiencing homelessness have had to scale back their services, and many shelters have closed their doors entirely to limit the spread of the virus. With winter in full swing in much of the country, many people are braving not only COVID and housing instability, but winter rain, snow, and freezing temperatures. Our system, as it’s currently built, cannot keep up with staffing and the increased resource needs demanded by safe practices around the virus.
The shelter system is ill-equipped for a pandemic
COVID has exposed some pretty tough truths. Congregate shelters, those that have multiple beds in the same rooms or space, are unsafe and unscalable during a pandemic. Social distancing is just not possible in many of these locations and outbreaks in staff and residents have been identified around the country since the pandemic kicked off. The safest options are single unit housing or shelters that have dorm-style housing, but these are few and far between. There are simply not enough rooms to go around and no safe way to house the number of people in need.
We have a looming eviction crisis
Unemployment nearly doubled since last year at this time and we have a looming eviction crisis that could flood the already overstretched safety net systems. An estimated 14 million people are behind on their rent. While there has been a federal moratorium on eviction since September 2020, one that President Biden extended to March 31, many people are playing a failing game of catch up.
Additionally, while the moratorium is much needed, many housing advocates claim it falls short of truly protecting tenants, requiring hoops to jump through for a tenant to defend their place to live. It also begs the very worrisome question: when the moratorium inevitably ends where will that leave those people who just can’t catch up?
Where do we go from here?
Housing is a linchpin determinant for health, especially for infectious diseases like COVID. The better, more stable your housing situation is, the better your health fares. It’s a simple equation that has been complicated by the virus and its attendant economic recession and rising unemployment.
While the moratorium on eviction is an absolute must, there are no safety nets for those that lost their housing before these national moratoria were installed. Researchers showed that lifting state or local moratoria on evictions caused an additional 433,700 cases of COVID and 10,700 deaths. We’re only just beginning to see the full extent of this crisis. We need retroactive safety nets like rent assistance for those who faced eviction this year.
We need sweeping legislation that guarantees housing for those struggling to make rent though the end of 2021 and provides relief funds for landlords and owners of properties similar to the Paycheck Protection Plan that was passed as part of the relief package for COVID. There has been severe economic strain put on landlords and without assistance they could lose their livelihoods and properties.
We need to house people ASAP. Using rent assistance funds from the CARES Act could be used to get people into affordable housing and get them back on their feet. We also need additional relief legislation to refill and maintain this pool of funds. President Biden plans to ask Congress for $30 million in additional funds for this purpose, but it’s unclear when and if that will be approved. There is also work being done in many areas to create permanent, non-congregate shelters through rentals and purchases of hotels. This should be encouraged by federal and state funds at the local level.
State and local governments should be ready for the wave of homelessness. That means cooperating closely with local CBOs and other non-profits working in housing to coordinate efforts and consolidate resources. It also means providing opportunities for affordable single unit housing. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of affordable housing in many areas. In fact, I’ve been told that in one northeast city there is waiting list of at least 4-6 months for a vacancy in units run by the local housing authority. Local authorities should not be breaking up local encampments if there is no other viable housing options available.
If you’d like to get involved, I’d encourage you to look into your local area’s homeless and housing organizations and research what your local public health agency is doing for this population. There are always opportunities to lend your time, money, and expertise toward this important cause. It’s more important than ever to bolster the safety net services in our communities and to help shine a light on this hidden and worsening crisis.
