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April 30, 2020 | Volume 24, No. 4 | Archives
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Stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 guidance with
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This month, learn more about coronavirus in Congress, voting and democracy, testing availability for our clients, and even some good news (plus a haiku contest!).
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| Congress & New Federal Funds
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What happened? Over the last two months, Congress passed several stimulus bills in response to COVID-19. These bills send funding resources directly to health centers and to states and localities, with flexibility to be used towards homeless services (the Council advocated for ESG funds to be allowable for health and medical respite care services), payments of $1,200 going directly to individuals, and a federal moratorium on evictions.
Learn more about the pieces most relevant to the HCH community in our new FAQs:
What's next? Negotiations are underway for a fourth major stimulus package, likely to be the largest one yet and the last to pass before the November elections. Currently, the two parties are working to find consensus on how to move forward, but this effort may move forward as early as next week when the Senate returns to D.C.
Learn more about specific asks for the fourth stimulus bill from our partners:
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Take Action!
If you are able to contact members of Congress on behalf of your program, let them know the dire urgency to include homelessness, housing, and health center resources in the next stimulus bill (find your member of Congress and their contact information). If you are a consumer, administrator, or provider and have a story or perspective to share on the COVID-19 policy response and/or needed federal resources, contact us at rreed@nhchc.org or 443-286-5537 to share your story and we will use it in our COVID-19 advocacy.
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| Testing, Testing... Our People Deserve Testing
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As a vulnerable population at a disproportionate risk of contracting COVID-19, it is critical that the HCH community is advocating for comprehensive testing and appropriate accommodations and support services in response. A recent CDC report found high proportions of positive test results upon universal testing in some shelters. Our new issue brief calls on public health authorities and emergency response systems to prioritize homeless populations and shelter staff for testing and support services.
Register for our COVID-19 testing webinar this Friday, May 1!
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Take Action!
Use this issue brief with your local and state partners, public health authorities, emergency task forces, and others in your community as part of your advocacy to ensure testing and supports are available for your clients.
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We have an important election in November! Let’s make sure everyone is able to get to know their candidates and vote in their state primaries and the general election.
Due to the Coronavirus, the national conventions have been delayed (the Democratic Convention will be August 17-20; the Republican Convention will be August 24-27), which allowed many primary elections dates to be pushed back. In addition, many states have shifted their primaries to mail ballots (GA, HI, KS, MD, MT, NE, NJ, OR, RI, SD, WV) while others are encouraging the use of absentee voting (DE, IN, NM, PA, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands). These changes are intended to allow more individuals to participate in the election process via mail.
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Take Action!
If your organization serves as individuals’ mailing addresses, start planning for how you will provide these ballots to clients. Check the National Coalition for the Homeless’ portal, You Don’t Need a Home to Vote, for updates on action needed at all levels of government and use their voter portal to help clients register to vote and find a polling place.
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Health Care for the Homeless community members are doing incredible work on the front lines of this pandemic. Every email you send, temperature you take, and intake form you process is part of a collective action that creates justice and compassion for people experiencing homelessness. Below is a compilation of inspiring takes and self-care tools from the HCH community. Submit yours by email to rreed@nhchc.org to be featured in our next Mobilizer.
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- Video serves as mall art projects to help deal with anxiety and frustration from Albuquerque’s Health Care for the Homeless ArtStreet To GO. The Program Coordinator, Barbara Jenson, says: “Everyone has fear and everyone has capacity for courage. How do we find courage? We make an active choice. Often the seeking isn’t particularly impressive or cool or heroic. It can look pretty ordinary.” (Twitter: @ABQHCH):
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The Council is grateful for our many partners collaborating on federal advocacy. As an example, read our recent blog post published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, which highlights the work of the HCH community and the need for solutions that make housing and health care a human right.
Additionally, this crisis illustrates that housing is health care, and we are amplifying that message. See a recent publication in the Annals of Family Medicine, highlighting respite care and larger structural changes needed to address COVID-19, co-authored by our own Barbara DiPietro.
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Take Action: Join Our Haiku Challenge!
Creating art is a form of self-care. Participate in our haiku challenge. Submit a haiku about homeless health care and/or COVID-19 via email to rreed@nhchc.org or via Twitter and mention @NatlHCHCouncil. We will feature the best submissions in our next Mobilizer!
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The latest podcast episode features conversations with Carrie Craig, MSW, LCSW, from Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and Lawanda Williams, LCSW-C, from Baltimore’s Health Care for the Homeless. Carrie and Lawanda discuss resiliency, positivity, and finding the energy for advocacy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen to this episode now on iTunes and Stitcher.
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Did you receive Mobilizer as a forwarded email or hear about it via social media? Register now to receive our action alerts each month!
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A haiku to close:
We are built for this.
Homeless Health Care Providers.
We will get through this.
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This publication and all HCH advocacy are funded by dues from Organizational Members of the Council and by private donations. Consider joining the Council to support this work.
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PO Box 60427 | Nashville, TN 37206 US
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