Thanks to the hard work of front line workers and volunteers, agency and community leadership, and state and system planners, we've made a lot of progress in our system's response to COVID-19 in the past two months.

Protecting the health of vulnerable North Carolinians experiencing or at risk of homelessness is a hard task and each day we are getting back up and getting after it again-- ensuring the new elements we've put in place can be sustained while adding additional aspects to the response.

This week brings good news of expanded testing capability. People who live in or have regular contact with high-risk settings like homeless shelters are now a priority for testing. Be sure to work with your public health department or other partners to set up a protocol for testing and a plan for what will happen if someone tests positive.

We know that because of health and economic disparities, people of color are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and are now disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Because these disparities are driven by systemic racism, we need to face them with a systemic response. Check out this blogpost and tools highlighted in it to use this opportunity to center race equity in our planning and response to COVID-19, in order to avoid repeating the problems of past disasters where people of color suffered more and took longer to recover than white populations. 

Our system is built on a foundation of responding to a crisis and assisting individuals and families find housing stability. Each week brings a new aspect into focus, ensuring a new piece is put in place. These steps all add up to create the critical system of response. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to serve the most vulnerable.

Sign up for benefits and economic payments
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Economic Impact Payments & Unemployment Benefits
Ensuring people have access to income supports is an essential piece of ending homelessness.

NCCEH created a flyer in English and Spanish covering the important information regarding Economic Impact Payments and the newly expanded unemployment benefits.

You can pass these flyers out to clients, post them on walls, or share online.
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NC DHHS Updates Guidance on Who Should be Tested for COVID-19

There is updated guidance on who should be tested for COVID-19. The new guidance recommends that clinicians test any patient in whom COVID-19 is suspected and ensure the following populations have access to testing, regardless of symptoms:

  • Anyone with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19
  • Close contacts of known positive cases, regardless of symptoms 
  • Persons who live in or have regular contact with high-risk settings (e.g., long-term care facility, homeless shelter, correctional facility, migrant farmworker camp)
  • Persons who are at high risk of severe illness (e.g., people over 65 years of age, people of any age with underlying health conditions)
  • Persons who come from historically marginalized populations
  • Health care workers or first responders (e.g. EMS, law enforcement, fire department, military)
  • Front-line and essential workers (grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, etc.) in settings where social distancing is difficult to maintain



As testing becomes more available, it is important to have a plan for how often testing will be done and what will happen if a resident or staff member tests positive.
 
Additional Guidance for Homeless Shelters, Homeless Services Providers and Housing has been added to the NCDHHS Website .
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Expansion of COVID-19 Symptoms

In order to keep front line workers and people experiencing homelessness safe, it is important to stay up to date on symptoms of COVID-19.

The CDC has recently updated the list of COVID-19 symptoms to watch out for. T he first three symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, and fever can continue to be used to identify potential COVID-19 cases. In addition, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and a recent loss of taste or smell have been added to the list of symptoms. The list of severe symptoms that should trigger someone to seek medical attention remain the same.
Racial Equity
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Racial Disparities and COVID-19
Racial disparities in the infection and response to the COVID-19 outbreak are becoming clear as new reporting emerges. Existing disparities, including underlying health conditions, barriers and biases are becoming amplified during the pandemic.

NCCEH recently posted a blogpost on 'Centering Race Equity in your System's Response to COVID-19', this post contains guidance for communities through a new tool from NCCEH for service providers.

A Framework for COVID-19 Homelessness Response
The National Alliance to End Homelessness and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently released 'A Framework for COVID-19 Homelessness Response' which provides guidance for how homelessness systems can leverage new or expanded funding to face COVID-19. NAEH and CBPP identify ways to approach the CARES Act and approval of other funding sources (such as FEMA Public Assistance) to simultaneously conduct emergency protective measures while planning for recovery-oriented uses of these funds.

This framework aims to:
  • Provide guidance on how communities can use these funds strategically across a range of key public health and economic recovery strategies
  • Help communities meet public health goals
  • Increase housing stability
  • Prevent future increases in homelessness that result from an economic downturn
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Socialserve Training
Socialserve is hosting a free online training on  Wednesday, May 20 at 10am  on how supportive services providers can use NCHousingSearch.org to find housing for clients.
 
The training will cover:
  • Basic and advanced housing searches;
  • How to use the case manager portal to find housing providers interested in working with the populations you serve;
  • How to use the Saved Search feature to be automatically notified when properties are added that meet your clients’ needs; and
  • Tools to assist with calculating affordability and moving costs.
 
To sign up for this free training on  Wednesday, May 20 at 10am , and receive webinar access instructions, email  training@socialserve.com .
Get Connected, Stay Connected
As COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, we recognize you need a space to communicate in real time with our staff and your peers.

NCCEH has created a Facebook groups for providers across the state to share resources, information, and best practices. We hope that you will join us to share resources and ideas!
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Helpful Resources
There's a lot of information to keep up with. We are gathering it all in one place at ww.ncceh.org/covid-19.

If you have a helpful resource that isn't on the site, that you'd like to share, send it to coronavirus@ncceh.org.
T he mission of the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness is to end homelessness by creating alliances, encouraging public dialogue, securing resources, and advocating for systemic change. NCCEH works with communities to address root causes of homelessness by developing and implementing data-driven strategies that are focused on permanent housing and appropriate services.
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Thank you for all you do to make our community a better place!