#HousersAtWork: PHAs Respond to COVID-19

Nationwide, public housing agencies (PHAs) of all sizes are responding to the COVID-19 health crisis while continuing to house families and provide platforms for opportunity. NAHRO’s #HousersAtWork campaign is our way of letting everyone know how much our PHA members do for their residents and communities – especially during this pandemic.

Each day for the next two weeks, we’ll use the hashtag #HousersAtWork on our Twitter and Facebook accounts to amplify stories about the good work our members have done, are doing, and continue to do in this unprecedented time. We’ll also share these stories in our email publications and on our dedicated #HousersAtWork page.

How to Share Your Story

We’re looking for stories about how our PHA members continue to help during COVID-19. Do you have a news article, original story or social media post to share? Here’s how you can!

Post your story on social media and use the hashtag #HousersAtWork. Tag us on Twitter at @nahronational and/or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nahronational
Email comms@nahro.org with links to news articles and/or social media posts

What Kind of Stories Is NAHRO Looking for?

Here are some examples of #HousersAtWork stories.

Partnering with local government and organizations to provide groceries, masks, COVID-19 testing, and other necessities for your residents
Providing internet access to resident youth to allow them to continue with their school work
Eviction prevention programs
New building openings, repairs, and renovations
Remote and online work protocols you’ve created in order to keep providing services to your residents
Providing job training, employment opportunities and other services to residents affected by COVID-19

Here are some specific examples of stories:

Streamlining Rent Recertifications during COVID-19

The Wellesley Report published a story about how the Wellesley Housing Authority (Mass.) streamlined rent recertifications.

Screenshot of a June 10 article from the Wellesley Report titled, “How Wellesley has had public housing residents’ backs during the COVID-19 crisis.”

A Housing Authority Helps Residents Get COVID-19 Testing – and More!

The Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro (N.C.) tweeted that they were providing free COVID-19 testing, masks, and groceries at one of their properties.

A tweet published by the Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro advertises free COVID-19 testing, masks and groceries for residents.

Providing Residents with COVID-19 Supplies, Information

In May 2020, the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County (Md.) worked with volunteers and nurses to provide protective supplies and information to residents. They also published a LinkedIn article detailing their process.

A picture of HCAAC staff and medical professionals.

Our Manager began to make calls and send emails with her staff, amassing a team of health professionals, HCAAC team members and other providers to acquire donations of masks, sanitizers and medical information that they could read and use to calm their fears. Nurses from our local Anne Arundel Medical Center joined the team to show residents how to wear the masks, clean their hands and answered any and all questions they had. During these visits, it became apparent that our residents appreciated the sincerity and effort put into place by these compassionate and amazing volunteers and staff members from HCAAC.
Quoted from: How did we help our residents during COVID-19?

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