Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Announces Final Extension For Federal Eviction Ban
Stateline: CDC Extends National Eviction Moratorium
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday extended the national eviction moratorium it first imposed in September to July 31. The eviction ban, designed to help keep people in their homes and thus slow the spread of COVID-19 in crowded settings such as homeless shelters, was set to expire next week. More than 7 million households were behind on rent last month and nearly half are at risk of eviction, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. State leaders are bracing for a potential wave of evictions when the federal moratorium expires. (Quinton and Hernández, 6/24)
NPR: CDC Extends Eviction Moratorium Through July
The Biden administration says the extension is for "one final month" and will allow time for it to take other steps to stabilize housing for those facing eviction and foreclosure. The White House says it is encouraging state and local courts to adopt anti-eviction diversion programs to help delinquent tenants stay housed and avoid legal action. The federal government will also try to speed up distribution of tens of billions of dollars in emergency rental assistance that's available but has yet to be spent. In addition, a moratorium on foreclosures involving federally backed mortgages has been extended for "a final month," until July 31. (Fessler, 6/24)
CBS News: CDC Extends COVID-19 Ban On Most Evictions Through July 31
The move comes after activists and lawmakers pleaded with the Biden administration to extend the measure, even as the U.S. has been marking the lowest levels of COVID-19 cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation's public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19," the CDC said in a brief statement announcing the extension. (Tin, 6/24)
And the Biden administration nominates a housing chief —
Politico: Biden Picks Housing Advocate To Lead FHA
President Joe Biden will nominate housing nonprofit executive Julia Gordon to be the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, the White House said Thursday. Gordon is the president of the National Community Stabilization Trust, which facilitates the rehabilitation of homes in underserved markets. She was also the housing director at the Center for American Progress and managed the single-family policy team at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. (O'Donnell, 6/24)
In related news on homelessness —
Bay Area News Group: As More Bay Area Homeless Camps Are Closed, Activists Fight Back
As the Bay Area continues to move closer to a pre-COVID-19 normal, officials are starting to disband many of the homeless encampments that had been allowed to stay in place — and expand — throughout the pandemic. But some camp residents aren’t going without a fight. A coalition of activists and unhoused people representing encampments throughout the Bay Area joined forces Tuesday to demand local agencies stop displacing people from their camps. They argue COVID-19 remains a threat, and federal health guidelines — which recommend allowing camps to stay where they are if individual housing is not available — are still in place. (Kendall, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Officials Want $15 Million For Tent Sites - Despite Angst Over Yearly $60K Cost Per Tent
San Francisco’s homelessness department is pushing to continue an expensive tent encampment program that it says is crucial for keeping people off the sidewalks, despite its high price tag of more than $60,000 per tent, per year. The city has six so-called “safe sleeping villages,” where homeless people sleep in tents and also receive three meals a day, around-the-clock security, bathrooms and showers. The city created these sites during the pandemic to quickly get people off crowded sidewalks and into a place where they can socially distance and access basic services. (Thadani, 6/23)
The Wall Street Journal: As Austin Booms, Homelessness Faces Crackdown
Cities nationwide are grappling with how to respond to homelessness after the coronavirus pandemic. This rapidly growing city of nearly 1 million has an estimated 3,160 people experiencing homelessness, according to an estimate by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, a nonprofit that serves as the lead agency for homeless services in the Austin area. While that is a small number compared with many West Coast cities, the issue gained visibility after a change to city policies led homeless encampments to spread across downtown Austin and popular walking and biking paths. (Findell, 6/24)
Bangor Daily News: Using Ramada Inn As A Shelter Offers Bangor A Model For Fighting Homelessness, Director Says
A Bangor hotel that has used all 60 of its beds to house homeless residents since last fall is expected to stop serving as a shelter at the end of September. But the shelter director said that use of the hotel over the past year could be a model for Bangor’s future efforts to fight homelessness. The Ramada Inn on Odlin Road has served exclusively as a homeless shelter since September 2020, when Penobscot Community Health Care began running it as an extension of its Hope House shelter under a contract with the Maine State Housing Authority. The initial goal for the shelter was to keep residents socially distant amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the city’s existing shelters could accommodate fewer guests because of distancing requirements. (Marino Jr., 6/24)
Also —
The Washington Post: Workers Transformed A McDonald’s In France Into A Food Bank
As the coronavirus overwhelmed Europe, the occupied building became the unlikely hub of an impromptu aid-distribution effort. (Noack and Mehl, 6/24)
