HUD awards $2 million to public housing in West Virginia to help keep residents housed

WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Joe DeFelice announced today more than $2 million (see chart below) in CARES Act funding to help families living in public housing across West Virginia during the coronavirus pandemic. The funding, made available by the CARES Act legislation President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020, will be awarded to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in the state. See national list of funding recipients.

“As the nation continues to deal with this health crisis, HUD is equipping Public Housing Authorities across West Virginia with a second round of funding to ensure they have what they need to fight the spread of the virus to keep families safe and secure,” said DeFelice.

In May, HUD initially awarded $1.6 million to help PHAs in the state prevent, prepare for and respond to the pandemic. These funds, as well as those awarded today, can be used for traditional administrative fees as well as for new costs related to keeping HUD-assisted families and individuals safe—those receiving assistance through HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Mainstream Voucher Programs.

While both programs provide tenant-based vouchers to low-income households, Mainstream vouchers go to low-income households that have a non-elderly person with a disability.

The eligible coronavirus-related activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Procuring cleaning supplies and/or services to maintain safe and sanitary HCV units, including common areas of PHA-owned Project Based Voucher (PBV) projects.
• Relocation of participating families to health units or other designated units for testing, hospitalization, or quarantine, or transportation to these locations to limit the exposure that could be caused by using mass transportation.
• Additional costs to supportive services vendors incurred due to coronavirus.
• Costs to retain or increase owner participation in the HCV Program, such as incentive or retention costs (e.g. the PHA offers owner an incentive payment to participate in recognition of added difficulties of making units available for HCV families to rent while stay-at-home orders or social distancing practices are in effect).
• Costs for providing childcare for the children of PHA staff that would not have otherwise been incurred (e.g. children are at home due to school closings, PHA staff are working outside of regular work schedules, etc.).

For more information on HUD’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the actions the Department has taken, please visit HUD.gov/coronavirus. PHAs across the nation have jumped into action to help assist their tenants and their communities during this unprecedented time. Read more about their stories featured in HUD’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors campaign in the Mid-Atlantic region.