May 5, 2020

HUD: Flexibility of Funds Increased and Expanded for Public Housing Authorities to Fight COVID-19

Funds for sanitation, transportation to health units and testing, childcare, food, and medical supplies 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today announced the allocation of $380 million in supplemental administrative fee funding to all Public Housing Authorities (PHA), including Moving to Work (MTW) PHAs. The two months of additional funding may be used for traditional administrative fees as well as for new costs related to protecting assisted families and employees throughout this coronavirus pandemic. The funding, made available by the CARES Act legislation President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020, will be awarded to PHAs across the Nation.

“We must do everything in our power to protect all American families from this invisible enemy, including our vulnerable in the Housing Choice Voucher Program,” said Secretary Carson. “These new flexibilities and additional funds will properly equip Public Housing Authorities across the country with the resources they need to combat this virus.”

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) includes the Mainstream Program, which provides tenant-based vouchers that serve households that include a non-elderly person with a disability and serves over 2.4 million families.

The new eligible coronavirus-related activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

A list of allocations can be found here.

After President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, HUD acted immediately to allocate its first wave of funding, over $3 billion to assist communities and non-profits, help protect the homeless and Americans with compromised immune systems, and assist Tribal communities in their COVID-19 response efforts. Last week, HUD announced an additional $685 million for PHAs to prepare for, prevent, and respond to a coronavirus outbreak for the public housing program.

“HUD is committed to assisting PHAs during this time so that assisted families can stay safe and healthy,” said Hunter Kurtz, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. “Providing these additional funds to PHAs will give them more tools to address local needs and respond to the Coronavirus pandemic as effectively as possible.”

For more information on HUD’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic and the actions the Department has taken, please visit Hud.gov/coronavirus. Public Housing Authorities across the Nation have jumped into action to help assist their tenants and their communities during this unprecedented time. Read more about their stories featured in HUD’s Neighbors Helping Neighborscampaign, here.

This post was originally published here.