Many People Are Still Waiting for Rent Aid Promised by Biden’s COVID-19 Relief Plan
Andreanecia Morris was huddled with six other housing advocates working to secure short-term rental housing for a 19-year-old who was 35 weeks pregnant when Morris thought to herself: “This is not a system.”
Morris is a housing advocate in New Orleans who has been working to connect those facing eviction and homelessness with the billions in rental assistance approved by Congress in several waves of coronavirus relief. As the federal moratorium on evictions expires at the end of March, experts say almost none of the funding from the last two rounds of relief has been disbursed.
Homelessness and housing insecurity have been on the rise since the coronavirus pandemic left millions unemployed and unable to make rent. Some 15 million Americans –nearly 1 in 5 American adults — report being behind on rent, according to a recent survey by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
