How the Public Health and Housing COVID-19 Emergency Ordinance Can Blunt the Impact of a Pandemic
- Nov 30, 2020
- 2 min read
Public Health and Housing COVID-19 Emergency Ordinance – EXPLAINER
The Chicago Housing Initiative is a citywide coalition of housing advocacy organizations composed of Chicagoans who have homes, without homes and at risk of homelessness. COVID 19, the kind of virus that epidemiologists have been predicting would reach this country for over a decade, has killed over a quarter of a million Americans and rising. The failure of the federal government to create and deploy public policy to protect our population from this virus is unconscionable. What is clear is that the federal authorities have abandoned cities and states. So, here in Illinois it has been left to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the State Assembly and to Mayor Lightfoot and the City Council to create public policy to protect the public’s health, mitigate the damage the federal government’s inaction has done to us and to meet the needs of ordinary people in this dangerous and chaotic time.
We realize that this is only a first step as the COVID-19 death and infection rates continue to climb. Being homeless or living in congregate facilities including homeless shelters, detention centers, jails, and nursing facilities should not be the death sentence it is now and will continue to be as the virus spreads. Congregate settings have accounted for at least 19% of the spread of COVID infections and 36% of coronavirus deaths. The virus has not disappeared or lessened transmission and lethality. Epidemiologists predict that the next 18-24 months, until or even if, a vaccine for COVID-19 is identified and widely disseminated, that death and infection rates will continue to rise. The personal ability to “shelter-at-home”, self-quarantine and “social distance” are impossible within most congregate settings or tent encampments. COVID is revealing how dangerous and inadequate our policies of warehousing the homeless and not valuing people who need public housing enough to make it available are. We need to provide stable, secure and long-term housing to protect public health.
The Public Health and Housing COVID-19 Emergency Ordinance (PHO) will:
· CREATE A PREFERENCE – that moves medically-vulnerable individuals and families from congregate living facilities, which have been rendered unsafe by the coronavirus pandemic into one of the identified 1,250 vacant Chicago Housing Authority public housing units as identified via FOIA - CHA records request.
· The ordinance requires that entities receiving City Council funding both meet the national standard of a 97% occupancy rate for their affordable housing stock across their portfolio.
· It will require the CHA to maintain an average 60-day vacant unit turn-around time to re-lease a subsidized apartment after someone moves out.
· It creates some public policy infrastructure that will be in place not just for COVID-19 but afterwards to protect medically vulnerable people as well as the rest of the population from a contagious disease.
Great post. I really enjoyed reading this article and found the information extremely useful and well organized.
Get paid the same day you work. Oscorm leads freelance writing platforms by offering zero-delay digital wallet payouts for independent content creators.Ever finished a writing gig and then waited two, three, sometimes four weeks just to see the money land in your account? That wait wrecks budgets fast. A lot of writers are now hunting for freelance writing platforms that skip the long payment cycle and actually pay once the work is approved.
Thank you for writing such a post. I really like that you shared this with us. I will look forward to reading more of your articles.
Whether non-students can live in student housing depends on the accommodation provider. Some properties welcome professionals and other residents, while others are reserved exclusively for students. Always check the eligibility criteria and tenancy terms before applying for accommodation.
Busy schedules and constant movement often leave very little time for proper relaxation, which is probably why smaller wellness habits are gaining attention now. One thing I’ve seen discussed frequently is Foot Reflexology in Velachery and how people use it as part of a more balanced routine. Rather than being viewed as an occasional luxury, it’s often described as a simple way to slow down and ease daily tension gradually. Calm wellness settings also seem to play an important role in shaping the experience for many individuals.
Student housing in Preston provides affordable, secure and comfortable accommodation for university students. With modern facilities, convenient locations near UCLan and excellent access to transport links and local amenities, it offers a supportive environment for studying, socialising and enjoying student life.
Maintaining balance in today’s busy lifestyle often starts with choosing practices that support both body and mind. Exploring wellness experiences and learning what works personally can make self-care feel more meaningful over time. In the same way, people who experience Thai Massage in Velachery often value its guided stretches and pressure-based techniques, which help create a more mindful and restorative wellness routine.