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Our Mission
To promote the development and preservation of affordable housing for all Nevadans through collaboration, education, and advocacy.
MARCH 2020
A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
By Christine Hess, Nevada Housing Coalition Executive Director
Dear NHC Members and Stakeholders,
I hope that this note finds you safe and successfully navigating this new reality with COVID-19. We likely have not met yet since I started as the new Executive Director for the Nevada Housing Coalition just as COVID-19 started to ramp up. While these aren’t the ideal circumstances, I am grateful and excited to be working alongside you to advance affordable housing solutions in Nevada. I understand first-hand disasters and the impacts of a shortage of affordable housing as my family was forced to relocate after Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey when there were no affordable rentals available within a 1 ½ hour drive. I empathize now as I hear individual stories. For more of my background, you can review the announcement here.
The Nevada Housing Coalition has been fielding many calls from individuals and organizations around Nevada and I wanted to take this time to share some resources with you and help you direct your stakeholders accordingly. The number one question coming to us is about evictions and moratoriums on evictions. How does the rental outlook in Nevada look for some of our most impacted workers from COVID-19?
COVID-19 Graphic_ Income Changes for NV Jobs Most Impacted.pdf
This data above combined with a lack of existing affordable housing (see the recently published National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) 2020 Gap Report ranks Nevada as the state with the least amount of affordable and available rental homes, only 18 for every 100 extremely low-income renter households) exposes the urgent need to take action now and continue the work for more solutions in the future.
There is not one answer for the challenges that all of us, and especially our most vulnerable populations, will face particularly when it comes to housing. NHC supports a comprehensive approach and we look forward to the approvals and disbursement of federal aid in response to COVID-19. NHC is not designed to offer direct service support, so we are referring other organizations such as Nevada Legal Services, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada , Washoe Legal Services for eviction-related concerns and and Nevada 2-1-1 for rental assistance referrals and other housing needs.
The Nevada Housing Coalition is going to be actively communicating through email and our social channels. Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. If you have services that I should know about relative to housing and COVID-19 that I can share, please let me know. In the meantime, contact me anytime, christine.hess@nvhousingcoalition.org or 775-571-3412. Also, if you have challenges or questions that you can’t answer, please ask and I will work hard to help you find the answers.
Be well and stay safe,
Christine
RESOURCES
Links to COVID-19 and Housing Related Resources
From the National Low Income Housing Coalition: Congressional Leaders Agree to Coronavirus Response Package with Funding for Homelessness and Housing (March 25, 2020)
From the National Low Income Housing Coalition: Chart for the Funding of Housing Programs as part of the Coronavirus Response Package
Nevada Health Response: A Resource by the Nevada Department of Health & Human Services and the Nevada Governor’s Office
In Development: National Housing Coalition COVID-19 Resource Page
EVENTS
Nevada Housing Coalition Virtual Work Sessions and Panels are currently being developed to continue opportunities for sharing best practices from around our state and from around the country.