During the pandemic, California tasked the department with administering more than $5 billion in state and federal funds to assist vulnerable tenants with rent relief through California’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program. A surge in denials beginning after the closure propelled advocates to sue, alleging that eligible renters were rejected and left without financial aid. Tenant advocates sued the housing department in June 2022 for distributing funds through an application process they characterized as muddled with barriers for low-income and vulnerable individuals unfamiliar with navigating government bureaucracy. Despite the settlement, rent debt leftover from the pandemic will remain a source of stress, eviction and homelessness.
In The News
It would raise California's current base pay to $25 hourly for certain employees in hospitals and other facilities.
In a small Central Valley town called Planada, months after the storms hit, about half the homes remain in disrepair and residents "are still digging themselves out." Farm workers lost months of wages, many undocumented so they are unable to apply for unemployment or federal disaster aid.
Councilman Pro Tem Curren Price, Dolores Huerta, Yvonne Wheeler, labor leaders and civil rights activists came together to declare "Miguel Contreras Day" on Cinco de Mayo.
Emergency Hospital Loan Bill Designed To Halt Closures Passed In Assembly, Senate. AB 112 would give a $150 million loan to distressed hospitals.
Thousands of residents were evacuated and unable to work after storms caused a nearby levee to breach in Planada, Merced County. Despite working in some of California’s most vital jobs and contributing to state and local tax revenues, many of the workers were not able to access unemployment benefits.
Los hospitales de California con problemas financieros pronto podrán solicitar préstamos estatales sin intereses, aunque aún no se han resuelto cuestiones clave sobre el proceso de selección.
California will become the first state to remove immigration status as a barrier to health care, making all low-income undocumented residents eligible for state-subsidized insurance regardless of age.
