November 18, 2021

New York State announced it will stop accepting pandemic rent relief applications after receiving 280,000 applications and expending nearly all $2.4 billion of assistance. An additional 100,000 applications are pending, and state officials say that without more money from the federal government, 70,000 to 80,000 of those applicants might not receive assistance. “The biggest concern is that there are people who might be able to get money, but no one has ever reached them,” said Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the Community Housing Improvement Program.

Though Northern Virginia is known to be a healthy and wealthy area, this isn’t the story for all neighborhoods. A new report examines the area’s 400-year history of racial segregation and traces its effects on residents’ health today. The study builds on a 2017 report that identified 15 “islands of disadvantage,” or census tracts in Northern Virginia experiencing high rates of poverty, unaffordable housing, poor education, and lack of health insurance. In some tracts, life expectancy could be 18 years below that in neighboring communities. “There is a narrative that’s far too common that blames the residents of these neighborhoods for the conditions that exist there and doesn’t really think about the backstory of how they came into existence in the first place,” said Steven Woolf, author of this study.

With the funding available from the American Rescue Plan Act, cities across Wisconsin are exploring ways they can help people experiencing homelessness as the winter months approach. La Crosse and Madison have converted hotel rooms into temporary housing, created city-owned encampments with prefabricated shelters with heating and electricity, and provided transportation services and meals. “We have found ourselves with a once in a lifetime opportunity, which is this [American Rescue Plan Act] funding. And we have the responsibility to do something bold that will change the systemic barriers that contribute to some of these issues,” said LA Crosse council member, Mackenzie Mindel.

States and localities that were quick to distribute federal assistance to struggling renters during the pandemic may get more aid reallocated from areas that were slower. Arizona has distributed only 4 percent of federal rental assistance and joins a list of other states and localities that failed to distribute 65 percent of funds. Localities will submit proposals on how they plan to fix bottlenecks to get assistance to those that need it, or they risk an estimated $1.2 billion of unused funds being recaptured and redistributed to other parts of the country.