COVID-19
August 28, 2020
Homelessness services systems should be working closely with their city and county governments and public health systems to prepare for COVID-19 disease outbreaks among people experiencing homelessness.
Vaccination Guidance During a Pandemic, CDC (July 16)
USICH and SARS-CoV-2- The Federal Response for Families and Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, USICH (July 6)
NEW: COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Winter Planning Resources HUD (October 2020)
NEW: Facility Ventilation Considerations CDC (November 2020)
CDC Guidance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed recommendations for homelessness services systems and providers about how to protect their staff, clients, and guests. Those recommendations fall into three groups: Plan, Act, and Follow-Up.
Plan
Community Planning and Preparedness
- Housing Problem-Solving in Practice, HUD (August 17)
- High Acuity: Transition from Short-term to Long-term Subsidy, HUD (August 11)
- Targeted Rehousing Strategy Overview, HUD (August 11)
- Justice Partnerships and Reentry Solutions, HUD (August 11)
- Case Management Ratios, HUD (August 11)
- Strategies for Eviction Prevention, HUD (August 11)
- Advancing Racial Equity Through Assessments and Prioritization, HUD (August 11)
- Operational Healthcare Partnerships, HUD (August 6)
- Connecting Quarantine to Coordinated Entry: Mainstream Resources, HUD (August 6)
- Leveraging Integrated Data to Support and Enhance COVID-19 Responses and Public Housing Authority Data Sharing Agreements, HUD (July 31)
- Eviction moratorium resources for public housing agencies, indigenous communities, multifamily dwellings, multifamily landlords, and multifamily tenants, HUD (July 23)
- Increasing Equity in the Homeless Response System Through Expanding Procurement, HUD (July 13)
- Community-based Organizations During COVID: Returning to Work, HHS ASPR (July 13)
- Data and Equity: Using the Data That You Have, HUD (July 8)
- Individuals Experiencing Homelessness are Likely to Have Medical Conditions Associated with Severe Illness from COVID-19 Issue Brief, HHS ASPE (June 25)
- Federal Funding Priority Order for Non-Congregate Shelter During COVID-19, HUD, HHS, FEMA (June 23)
- Homeless Prevention: Effective and Efficient Prevention Programs, HUD (June 19)
- Rehousing Activation and Racial Equity Part 1: Equity as the Foundation, HUD (June 8)
- Planning a Housing Surge to Accelerate Rehousing Efforts in Response to COVID-19, HUD (June 8)
- Equity-Driven Changes to Coordinated Entry Prioritization, HUD (May 29)
- Webinar: Engaging Persons with Lived Experience of Homelessness in Your COVID-19 Response, HUD (May 19)
- COVID-19 Landlord Engagement: Reset your Community's Critical Partnerships During COVID Response, HUD (May 15)
- Homeless System Response: Changes to Coordinated Entry Prioritization to Support and Respond to COVID-19, HUD (May 7)
- A Framework for COVID-19 Homelessness Response: Responding to the Intersecting Crises of Homelessness and COVID-19, NAEH (May 1)
- Information on Federal Programs to Sustain Nutrition for At-Risk Individuals, HHS (April 27)
- Sustaining Nutritional Needs for At-Risk Individuals: Information for State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Entities, FEMA, HHS (April 27)
- COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide, USDA (April 15)
- FEMA COVID-19 Feeding Guidelines, FEMA (April 9)
- FEMA COVID-19 Sheltering Guidelines, FEMA (April 8)
- Supporting Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Questions to Consider, USICH (March 16)
- Guidance on COVID-19 for VA Grantees Providing Homeless Services, VA (March 13)
- Questions to Assist CoCs and Public Health Authorities to Limit the Spread of Infectious Disease in Homeless Programs, HUD (March 9)
- Preventing and Managing the Spread of Infectious Disease for People Experiencing Homelessness, HUD (March 2) (Disponible en Espanol)
- Preventing and Managing the Spread of Infectious Disease within Shelters, HUD (March 2)
- Preventing and Managing the Spread of Infectious Disease within Encampments, HUD (March 2)
- Equity Capacity Building: Hiring, Supervision, Training, HUD (August 28)
- Racial Trauma and Trauma-Informed Services, HUD (August 28)
- Special Population Rehousing Strategy: Youth and Young Adults, HUD (August 21)
- Special Population Rehousing Strategy: Family Violence, HUD (August 21)
- Rapid Rehousing Ramp-Up HUD (September 28)
- Remote Supervision Tips for Homeless Service Providers HUD (September 28)
Act
Site-Specific Emergency Operations
Client Support and Care
For a curated list of key resources on client support and care, please see National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s COVID-19 resources.
Funding, Flexibilities, and Waivers
For more information on the links below, please see our dedicated page COVID-19 Funding, Flexibilities and Waivers.
- Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 COVID-19 Supplemental Funding Example of Allowable Uses of Funds, ACF (May 12)
- Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 COVID-19 Supplemental Funding Guidance: ACF Reporting Requirement for FYSB RHY Programs, ACF (May 12)
- COVID-19 Dislocated Worker Grants, DOL (May 5)
- States that have been approved to operate pandemic EBT programs, USDA (April 24)
- Federal Programs that Support Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, HHS, HUD, FEMA, USICH (April 17)
- Treasury, IRS launch new tool to help non-filers register for Economic Impact Payments, IRS (April 10)
- Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding flexibilities in education funding, ED (April 3)
- Small Business Administration COVID-19 Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources, SBA (April 3)
- Office on Violence Against Women Resources and FAQs for Grantees, Department of Justice (April 3)
- Availability of Waivers of CPD Grant Program and Consolidated Plan Requirements to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 and Mitigate Economic Impacts Caused by COVID-19 for CoC, ESG, and HOPWA, HUD (April 1)
- FAQs on FEMA-supported non-congregate sheltering, FEMA (March 31)
- ACF grant flexibilities in conducting human service activities related to or affected by COVID-19, Children's Bureau (March 30)
- Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastucture Workforce, DHS (March 28)
- Child Nutrition Program State by State COVID-19 Waivers, USDA Food and Nutrition Services (webpage, no publication date)
- TANF flexibilities in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS (March 24)
- FEMA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Public Assistance Simplified Application, FEMA (March 23)
- FEMA Coronavirus Pandemic: Eligible Emergency Protective Measures (March 19)
- Using a Disaster Policy to Fund Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response with ESG, HUD (March 18)
- Using CoC Program Funds for Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response, HUD (March 13) (Disponsible en espanol)
- Quick Guide to CDBG Eligible Activities to Support Infectious Disease Response, HUD (March 13)
- Available SSVF Resources to Place Homeless Veterans at High-Risk of COVID-19, VA (March 13)
- Eligible ESG Costs for Infectious Disease Preparedness, HUD (March 5)
Other Considerations
Community Examples
For more community examples, see either NAEH's Coronavirus and Homelessness resource collection or Community Solutions' curated web portal. USICH does not endorse the resources found on those pages.
- Webinar Recording: Future Planning for the Homelessness Response System: Lessons Learned from Birmingham, Detroit, and New Orleans, USICH (July 27)
- Landlord Engagement Spotlight: Miami-Dade County, HUD (June 23)
- Webinar: Future Planning for the Homelessness Response System: Lessons Learned from Seattle/King County, Los Angeles, and Houston, USICH (June 17)
- Webinar: Operating Isolation and Quarantine Facilities and Providing Medical, Behavioral Health, and Substance Use Treatment: Lessons from King County, USICH (May 12)
- Webinar: Maximizing Funding for Non-Congregate Shelter Opportunities: California’s Project Roomkey, USICH (April 23)
- Webinar: Implementing Assessment and Recovery Centers and Providing Transportation to I/Q Facilities: Lessons from Seattle & King County, USICH (April 13)
- Webinar: Reinforcing the Homelessness Crisis Response: Lessons from Seattle & King County, USICH (March 31)
- Webinar: Isolation and Quarantine: Lessons Learned from King County, USICH (March 24)
Follow-Up
Community Planning
