Dear John,

It's not hyperbole to say that the world as we know it has changed dramatically in the last two weeks. Like all of you, we are overwhelmed by how our professional and personal lives have been altered. How frightening it must it be for those who live on the margins - vulnerable households who are one paycheck away from losing everything.

We advocate for housing affordability in our region, but we know that housing does not exist in a vacuum. Safe, decent shelter that is affordable creates stability, but housing is also essential to health, as we discuss in our most recent blog post. As we are all ordered to stay at home, where do those persons who are homeless, or living in overcrowded or unstable housing go?

We were in the midst of budget season in Northern Virginia, and there was excitement about the consensus to unite as a region and address our affordable housing crisis when the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. began to accelerate. We applaud those jurisdictions who allocated additional financial resources and are exploring land use and zoning policies for more affordability in our communities. We had begun our budget advocacy to support our elected officials who made commitments to housing.

But.....the world has changed dramatically, and we understand that local budget proposals will change to address the new reality. So we conducted a small, unscientific poll of advocates in Fairfax County to ask, "As we think about budget advocacy, what should our priorities be? And where does housing fit into that list of priorities?"

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is uncertain (as are all local elected officials) of what will happen in the short term. That's understandable, but they will have to make decisions in May. Additional state funding (if the approved budget remains the same) for education and transportation, and the newly approved authority for counties to create additional revenue streams, such as a meals tax, provides the ability to reallocate local dollars. But would a meals tax be viewed favorably now that the restaurant industry has been so devastated by shutdowns?

We thought the responses to our question on budget priorities were instructive, and could well be representative of responses from other jurisdictions, so we've decided to share what was said:

Vulnerable residents are physically and emotionally distressed. They are concerned about food supply and distribution (food insecurity is rising rapidly); job loss/reduced work hours; access to health care; access to child care; housing instability due to loss of income; how undocumented residents aren’t eligible for public assistance; and how to care for elderly family members.

Recommendations to consider. Extend and increase county contracts with neighborhood clinics for those who are uninsured and need medical attention. See the steps that Virginia Medicaid is taking to fight COVID-19. Work with private landlords to suggest a reasonable rate of rent increase during this uncertain time. Ensure that all non-essential evictions are suspended through April 6 per the State Supreme Court’s order. Bolster rental and utility financial assistance, especially for workers in the service and retail sectors. Seek an agreement with [universities] to utilize empty student dormitory units for additional housing capacity for local hospitals or homeless shelters. Lease or purchase vacant hotel space for additional housing capacity.

Sustainability of affordable housing owners and human service providers. The prospect of wide-scale permanent lay-offs will overwhelm all social services, including affordable housing. Already, many residents will be unable to pay their rent in April and may be unable to pay for months to come. Impacts on affordable housing owners could be huge. A priority right now is to help make sure this does not happen. Federal, state and local assistance is being developed now, but some of the federal programs only benefit documented residents, so the undocumented (and landlords who house them) may suffer greater impacts. As we continue to advocate for funds for the supply of affordable housing, we should also advocate that financial programs to revive local economies are targeted to firms and industries which employ large numbers of lower-wage workers (like food, hospitality, construction, tourism, etc.).

It should also be noted that the supportive services and community outreach at many properties operated by mission directed sponsors provide already-in-place facilities and resources that can be quickly brought to bear on community-wide challenges such as this crisis. These organizations deserve continued support by the public sector and expansion of their presence.

An immediate concern is the effect on all of the developments that are subject to severely reduced rental income as residents lose wages from school and business closures. If the residents can’t pay rent, the properties can’t pay bills (payroll, vendors, taxes, debts service, etc.). These properties generally operate on very thin margins to begin with and do not have a great deal of resiliency without some financial support from government funding or lender flexibility—not paying vendors will just accelerate the downward spiral.

Maybe [local housing trust fund dollars] are better spent to stabilize the housing we have. Municipalities may need to give emergency grants or loans to landlords who can document lost rental income from residents who couldn’t pay. Funds could also be given directly to residents to pay their overdue rent.

The collective response. National housing organizations like NLIHC and the Housing Advisory Group have mobilized quickly and identified specific federal and state recommendations to address the impact on the affordable housing cmmunity. Local governments are responding in real time to a host of burgeoning needs. See what's been announced in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County. We hope that additional NoVA jurisdictions will provide comprehensive response plans as well. Community foundations throughout the region have stood up COVID-19 Response Funds and residents and businesses have responded to the call to action.

The uncertainty of the times is unsettling and we don't know how, or what or if to plan. However, a quote from an article in the Virginia Mercury by Angela Ciolfi crystallizes this moment for us:

"To put it bluntly: COVID-19 is not just a destructive act of nature. It is also a human-made crisis caused by our collective failure to address gaps in our economic system and social safety net. These gaps leave millions of people stranded every day without health care, paid sick leave, affordable housing, reliable food sources, access to technology and broadband and other basic life necessities."

As Ms. Ciolfi writes, this is a failure of our systems and our inadequate response to end poverty, improve health, provide housing and create opportunity for all those who live in our communities. This is a systems failure that we can no longer ignore, and now it is our job, as housing and community development professionals and advocates, to respond.

Michelle Krocker
Executive Director

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