Focus COVID-19 relief on the most vulnerable
Over the past five months, a virus that is invisible to the naked eye has allowed us to see what we have refused to see for too long. The entire world is interconnected, and we are only as healthy as the people who share the same plane, crowded bus or sidewalk.
In some ways the virus has been a great equalizer when it comes to feelings of vulnerability. No one is immune. Yet medical experts have identified patterns and shared traits in those who ultimately succumb to the virus. Disparities in heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and pulmonary conditions exponentially increase one’s chance of dying due to COVID-19.
This is the point where that shared feeling of vulnerability ends and true vulnerable begins. National statistics show that communities of color are not only contracting the virus more often, but the men, women and children in those communities are also dying at greater rates than other communities.
And the economic fallout in those same communities is even more vast. Although all industries are slashing jobs, low-wage workers are more likely to lose their livelihoods. The people who were least likely to have a safety net are the ones left with nothing.
That’s why Harris County passed the COVID-19 Relief Fund, one of the boldest and most progressive public relief funds in the country. We have made $30 million available for low-income residents to meet their most basic needs of food, shelter, childcare and medical costs.
COVID-19 highlights the inequality we already knew existed in our county and country. Even before the pandemic, many workers, the backbone of our economy, did not have health insurance or paid sick leave. Now, the people who still have jobs must choose between going to work where they risk contracting or spreading a deadly virus, or losing vital income. We all need the people taking care of our children, preparing our food and caring for our loved ones to stay healthy. But not everyone can afford to do that.
We know that some of our most vulnerable residents are making tough choices for their survival: parents serving meals to their children while they themselves go hungry, renters paying for their housing costs at the expense of other basic needs and families losing connection to their schools because they can’t pay phone or internet bills.
That’s why Harris County’s fund focuses on the communities hardest hit by the pandemic and with the fewest resources to bounce back. We are using data about COVID-19 infection rates, eviction, job losses, poverty and social vulnerability to identify neighborhoods for targeted outreach for our public intake process. We are working with trusted nonprofits embedded in culturally and geographically diverse communities so they can provide some funds to residents with the most urgent needs.
In a world where access to information too often equates with opportunity, we are ensuring a fair and open public intake process. Everyone will have a chance to apply; this is not first-come, first-served. Residents can apply online or by phone, so we do not leave people out just because they are unlucky enough to be on the wrong side of our vast digital divide.
The assistance that has been provided isn’t enough — and help is not reaching everyone who needs and deserves it. Thousands of hard working Harris County residents don’t have access to the lifelines of federal pandemic unemployment assistance or CARES Act economic stimulus payments. Our undocumented brothers and sisters, who contribute more than a billion dollars in federal, state and local taxes, have not received any of that federal aid. Private philanthropy is struggling as well, compared to other disasters when donations have poured in from around the world. That leaves Harris County to fill the void.
Looking out for our most vulnerable residents is why government exists. Addressing the inequities that our communities face, whether during a flood or pandemic or a regular day, is why I’ve devoted my career to public service.
We need to show up not just for the celebrations for but even more when our community is in crisis. In the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Right now, too many people who have too little. Harris County is trying to step up where others can’t or won’t. That’s the only way we can get through this pandemic.
To learn more or to apply, go to harriscountyrelief.org