We Are Making Progress – Don’t Let Up!

Thanks to your advocacy, we are continuing to gain ground in building support for essential housing and homelessness resources and protections as negotiations for the next coronavirus relief package move forward. The White House has put rental assistance on the table for negotiations and has called for an executive order on eviction moratoriums, although both offers are inadequate to address the urgent need. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers have weighed in with their leadership in support of measures to prevent evictions and homelessness. Democratic leadership continues to hold firm on NLIHC’s top priorities to address the health and housing needs of the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.

The stakes could not be higher, and now is a key moment for advocates. Together, we can make a real difference. Keep calling on your members of Congress to ensure robust resources and protections for the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness remain a priority in negotiations.

Even if you have already reached out – do so again today!

Take Action

1. Contact your senators and representatives again today: Demand that Congress pass the essential housing provisions of the HEROES Act. Find the phone numbers of your members of Congress here or send an email!
2. Use NLIHC’s Advocacy Toolkit to urge Congress to take immediate action to ensure housing stability.
3. Call out the need for #RentReliefNow on social media, using our sample social media posts and images. Tag your member of Congress and demand action!
4. Publish op-eds and letters to the editor in your local papers using NLIHC’s media toolkit here.

Background

Thanks to your advocacy, lawmakers are increasingly feeling the pressure to act to ensure housing stability during the coronavirus pandemic and address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

It is unclear when a deal will be reached, but so far, all of NLIHC’s top priorities are on the table: a national, uniform moratorium on all evictions for nonpayment of rent; $100 billion in emergency rental assistance through the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act;” $11.5 billion to help address the health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness; and at least $13 billion in additional resources to ensure housing stability.

It is critical that advocates do not let up the pressure until a final deal is reached. “The stakes could not be higher during this public health crisis,” NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel warned in a press statement. “Ensuring that everyone is stably housed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a moral imperative – it is a public health necessity.”

Contact your members of Congress now!

Thank you for your crucial advocacy!