Housing Assistance Corporation received a dramatic influx of calls and emails asking for urgent assistance in the first week after Governor Charles D. Baker Jr. ordered the shutdown on nonessential business. The agency has established a Workforce Housing Relief Fund to respond to an anticipated prolonged increase in local need for housing support.
In just the last three days, Housing Assistance received 35 inquiries for assistance, 33 of which were related to COVID-19. At this rate, Housing Assistance anticipates the need to raise at least an additional $100,000 per month over the next six months to help our workforce remain safely and stably housed and recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. Individual donations to the Workforce Housing Relief Fund will be 100 percent pass-through to pay for client's housing. These donations will be added to contributions from towns and foundations to create one coordinated housing relief fund.
Calls requesting financial assistance with rent were up nearly 250 percent during the past seven days compared to the previous week. And calls requesting help with foreclosure prevention are up 400 percent during the month of March over the average month of requests. Housing Assistance has redeployed some of its staff to help shore up its frontline intake counselors who respond to client requests via phone and email.
“Even before the COVID-19 health crisis, our workforce faced a housing crisis—a lack of housing options that are affordable for the wages people earn on Cape Cod and the Islands,” said Alisa Magnotta, CEO of Housing Assistance.
“As the agency administering many of the state and federal housing assistance programs, we know that there are many people who fall just outside the limited criteria of these government programs who still cannot afford rent or a mortgage in our region, Ms. Magnotta said. "The current pandemic is exacerbating this problem. Many people do not have room in their extremely tight budgets to absorb a loss of wages or increased expenses. That’s why we established the Workforce Relief Fund. It's never been more important for people to have a safe, stable place to call home.”
Housing counselors are following the rapidly evolving landscape of lender and government assistance programs. However, many people’s housing expenses will not be fully covered, even if a person does receive unemployment benefits. Examples of gaps in coverage that clients are reporting include:
• Clients report being unable to successfully submit unemployment claims either because the benefit for their particular circumstance is not yet available or systems are overloaded.
• Many furloughed workers must now pay entirely for their family’s health insurance out-of-pocket because employer contributions to their health insurance has stopped.
• Many Cape and Islanders make their annual budgets work by combining seasonal and part-time jobs with their year-round employment. Many seasonal businesses are delaying their openings indefinitely.
"assistance" - Google News
April 03, 2020 at 09:17PM
https://ift.tt/39EX6sg
Housing Assistance Requests Nearly Double in One Week - CapeNews.net
"assistance" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Ne4zX9
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Housing Assistance Requests Nearly Double in One Week - CapeNews.net"
Post a Comment