This year hasn’t been easy for any of us. As we stumble through the final stretch of it, those of us who still have our health and a roof over our heads know how lucky we are. So many Americans are without both. As you may have seen on the news, the number of homeless soared in 2020, with up to 45% more people living on the streets than in 2019. That increase is heart-wrenching, and the health risks this group faces make this problem an urgent one for all of us to work together to solve. It turns out Americans experiencing homelessness are more susceptible to COVID-19 and are more likely to be hospitalized for it as well, affecting our health system as a whole. However, there is hope for helping our most vulnerable get back on their feet. Led by the nonprofit Community Solutions and in partnership with Rocket Mortgage®, Built For Zero is a national effort to make homelessness rare and brief. Learn about this movement, as well as what you can do to help.
THE FACTS
Americans experiencing homelessness are at greater risk for contracting COVID-19 and are more likely for the illness to prove severe or fatal.
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People experiencing homelessness are more likely to be older, chronically ill, or immunocompromised.
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They may be less equipped to comply with directives to practice social distancing and wash hands due to living in conditions without adequate space or running water.
A failure to protect this population will overwhelm hospital systems, which are already under critical duress.
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More than half a million people experience homelessness on any given night, but there are fewer than 100,000 intensive care beds in the nation’s hospitals.
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A report by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, and Boston University assumes that people experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to be hospitalized. It notes that 40% of people experiencing homelessness could contract the virus and as many as 10% could require hospitalization. In many U.S. communities, numbers like this could overwhelm their hospital capacity.
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An analysis conducted by Dr. Brendan O’Flaherty, a professor of economics at Columbia University, projects an increase in homelessness by 40 to 45% this year over 2019, an addition of nearly 250,000 people, if homelessness follows unemployment the way that it has done so in the earlier part of this century.
WHAT BUILT FOR ZERO AND ROCKET MORTGAGE® ARE DOING
Led by the nonprofit Community Solutions and in partnership with Rocket Mortgage®, Built For Zero is a national effort of more than 80 cities and counties using data to radically change how they work and the impact they can achieve — and proving that it is possible to make homelessness rare and brief.
To address the global pandemic, they are mobilizing their teams, networks, and partners to urgently support our communities. They are working to prevent deaths among people experiencing homelessness, protect staff on the front lines, and help preserve hospital capacity for everyone who needs it.
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The Built for Zero coaching team is supporting local teams in more than 80 communities through ongoing coaching, convening and the facilitation of peer learning as they respond to COVID-19.
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They’re securing resources that respond to what these communities are struggling with, such as personal protective equipment, staffing, testing and tools, and forging partnerships where they are needed.
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The Brownsville Partnership, in one of New York City’s hardest hit neighborhoods, is coordinating the delivery of critical resources to families and supporting the Brownsville Mutual Aid Network.
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Their real estate team is helping communities to acquire properties for emergency and long-term housing use.
Rocket Mortgage®’s Partnership with Built For Zero
Rocket Mortgage® believes that a home is so much more than a house. It’s what gives each of us the stability and security we need to build our best lives.
Their commitment to ending veteran homelessness is a natural extension of the organization’s long history of supporting veteran causes. They believe that there is no greater honor than serving those who have dedicated their lives to the service of our country, which is why they strive to provide veterans support in as many areas as possible.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Support the leaders of your homeless response system. If you are in a Built For Zero community, you can find a list of the organizations that are leading the Built For Zero work here.
Contact your elected officials. Your help is needed urging federal, state, and local governments to ensure people experiencing homelessness are not left behind.
Stop sweeps in your community. CDC’s guidance states that providing individual units are the best prevention measure for COVID-19 among unsheltered homeless populations, and unless they can be provided, encampments should be allowed to remain and be supplied with access to sanitation facilities. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty have developed a letter template to advocate for a moratorium of sweeps in your community, in accordance with this guidance.
Quicken Loans LLC..; NMLS #3030; www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in 50 states. For additional information please visit RocketMortgage.com
