“What’s your plan moving forward?”
That’s a standard question we ask during the intake process for people requesting Stable Home funds to avoid eviction. It’s a question that’s hard enough for many folks to answer during normal circumstances, but it feels nearly impossible to answer during the COVID-19 crisis.
We continue to serve clients through our Stable Home eviction prevention program while also monitoring the evolving assistance response coming from state and national government. We’re leaning heavily on our experience with this program to make the most of the assistance we give amid a shifting landscape.
“The applications are coming in,” said Greg, Attain Housing’s Program Services Manager. “We’ve changed and updated our procedures to be as efficient as possible because we just know we’re going to get slammed with requests soon.”
Greg went on to say that we’re getting calls for Stable Home funding from people who would have never called us under normal economic circumstances.
“We’re basically providing financial triage to everyone who calls us, which is a great thing,” said Greg. “We’re helping people apply for unemployment and other funds they may be eligible for, and then hopefully addressing the smaller gap in funding that they’ll need after that. It’s become an extension of our case management services that we also provide to our transitional housing families.”
Jesse, our Resource Coordinator, is often the first point of contact folks have with Attain Housing when they call seeking help with rent or housing. He said the calls from people who haven’t been able to work due to illnesses have become more common.
“There have been callers who are contract workers who have been sick and told to stay home from work, but can’t get tested for COVID-19,” Jesse said. “And then they’re told that even after they’re feeling better, they can’t go back to work yet. So, we’ve been able to help with rent for a few folks in this situation.”
We’re anticipating more and more people finding themselves in unfamiliar territory in regards to finances and housing in the coming months as our region reels from the economic impact of COVID-19. If you would like to join the community of caring donors who are helping people stay housed, you can donate here.