Update to excerpt below: City of Houston approves $15 Million in rental assistance for people affected by the coronavirus.

[Excerpt below]

The Metropolitan Organization of Houston says 70,000 families won’t be able to make rent, and it’s why they are calling on Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to act.

10,000 of families will be homeless. I (implore) you, answer the call again, sound the alarm again, leave no one behind,”

said Minister Jaqueline Hailey [in screenshot above] of Greater New Hope Baptist Church and member of the TMO, during a virtual press conference.

TMO members say with 57% of Houston households as renters, a crisis could be on its way...

Group Calls on Mayor to Increase Fund to Help Houstonians Pay Rent to $100M, Click2Houston (KPRC) [pdf]

Houston Aprueba $15 Millones Para Ayudar a Pagar la Renta a Inquilinos Afectados por el Coronavirus, Univisión [video] [pdf]

Houston to Use $15 Million in Federal Relief Funds to Help Residents Make Up Late Rent, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

[Excerpt below]

Low-income families, residents in the country illegally, victims of domestic violence and children aging out of foster care are the target audience for a $15 million coronavirus relief fund Harris County Commissioners Court created Tuesday.

The fund, proposed by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, aims to assist residents who are ineligible for federal aid through the CARES Act or for whom the $1,200 stimulus payments are insufficient.

....

Minister Jacqueline Hailey of the New Hope Baptist Church [which is a member of TMO] said housing is a particular area of need, as Friday marks the second time rent will come due since the pandemic reached the Houston area in March.

“There are 70,000 Houston renters who were unable to pay their rent last month, and there will be even more in May,” Hailey said.

[Photo Credit: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle]

Harris County Creates $15 Million Pandemic Relief Fund Aimed at Most Vulnerable Residents, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

 [Excerpt below]

Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis of Northside Episcopal Church said church groups are seeing a lot of children across Houston experiencing trauma — and even grief — as normalcy and friendships are lost because of COVID-19 and all the events that have come before it.

Baldwin-McGinnis is an executive committee member for The Metropolitan Organization, a nonprofit that brings faith-based groups together to influence policymakers’ decisions. The organization is currently working to raise awareness for the food and housing needs low-income and minority communities are facing during the pandemic.

“We know that the nervous system of children gets extra triggered when there are multiple experiences of complex trauma,” Baldwin-McGinnis said. “If they’ve had losses in the past, they’re less able to regulate their emotions, they have higher levels of anxiety … (and) you can get all kinds of crazy behavior including higher aggression.”

[Photo by Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle]

Houston Has Experienced a Series of Unfortunate Events. Our Children Are Likely Suffering for it, Houston Chronicle

[Excerpts]

The suspension of rent, and the forgiveness of any debts related to its non-payment, is a profoundly biblical idea. We find it in the Hebrew Bible, in Leviticus 25:8-55, God gave Moses extensive laws that are to govern the “year of jubilee,” a period when all debts were forgiven, and property was to be widely redistributed throughout the community. In Deuteronomy 15:1 we encounter a text that reads, “Every seventh year you shall practice remission of debts."

....

The CARES Act provides for mortgage forbearance for federally backed mortgages. Homeowners and landlords can forego payments to their lenders for up to twelve months. The payments are to be tacked onto the end of the loan without penalty. This relief will prevent millions of homeowners and landlords from losing their homes and rental properties through foreclosure during this health emergency. To avoid a massive foreclosure crisis, mortgage lenders must embrace their key role and facilitate forbearance for homeowners and landlords.

[But] the CARES Act provides no similar relief to renters. Businesses are eligible for rent relief in the form of grants and loans. Families are only offered a delay in the eviction process and protection from landlords charging them fees or penalties for non-payment of rent. This means that if they fail to pay rent throughout the pandemic then they will face eviction as soon as it is over.

The CARES Act does create a Coronavirus Relief Fund to allow cities and counties to respond to their urgent needs. Harris County will receive over $800 million from this fund. At least $100 million should be used for rental assistance and other resources needed by families who will not receive funds from the CARES Act.

Suspending rent throughout the course of the pandemic would guarantee housing security for renters. At the end of the pandemic, renters should not owe their landlords anything for missed rent payments or face retribution for non-payment of rent....

[Photo by Melissa Philip, Houston Chronicle]

Bible Teachings Counsel Us to Suspend Rent During Coronavirus Pandemic, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

[Excerpts]

Alba Garcia, 51, has a decision to make. Does she pay rent Wednesday or does she buy food for her 7-year-old daughter?

“Maybe I should try and pay my rent because I can’t bear for me and my daughter to be on the streets. I can beg for food but I can’t lose my apartment," she said in Spanish. Joe Higgs, an organizer for The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) acted as a translator. TMO works with Holy Ghost Catholic Church where Garcia is a member.

....

The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) — which is a coalition of organizations and religious institutions — is working with Garcia’s and Hernandez’s church to help them and others in dire situations. Their two big focuses during the coronavirus crisis are ensuring the poorest and most vulnerable people in the Houston area have food security and don’t lose housing.

“As Rev. John Ogletree of First Metropolitan Church and TMO said at a TMO virtual press conference on Wednesday, March 18, ‘hourly and part-time workers like waiters, cleaning crews, bartenders, dishwashers and others are losing their income and this is forcing them to decide whether to buy food, pay utility bills or pay rent,'” the group wrote in a press release.

Among their demands from local lawmakers, TMO is asking that Gov. Greg Abbott place a moratorium on evictions.

[Photo Credit: Click2Houston.com]

Faced With Desperate Circumstances, Nearly 2M People in Texas - Including These Houstonians - Won’t See a Stimulus Check, Click 2 Houston [pdf][pdf]

In a budget process that the Houston Chronicle says "devolved into a clash of wills," TMO clergy and leaders leveraged a major wage win for workers: $14 per hour for 3,000+ of the lowest paid employees in the Houston Independent School District, employees who keep children safe, nourished, and schools clean. 

In testimony to the HISD Board, Deacon Sam Dunning, Director of the Office of Peace and Justice in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston argued: "A budget is a moral document...it is time to treat all workers with dignity." 

Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis of Northside Episcopal Church argued, "There is a price to be paid for allocating funds that is not equitable to all classes and that price will be paid by your hourly workers and their family members... in the form of hunger, inadequate housing, anxiety, fear and stress."  Rev. Jimmy Grace of St. Andrew’s Episcopal, Rev. Darrel Lewis of New Pleasant Grove Baptist, Rev. Jacqueline Hailey of New Hope Baptist, Rev. Rhenel Johnson of St. Andrew's UMC and Chava Gal-Orr from Temple Sinai spoke at Board meetings and press conferences as well.

This spring, TMO was part of a delegation of 300 Texas IAF leaders that called on state legislators to increase spending in public education in order to retain the talent upon which public schools rely.  After passage of HB3, which put millions of dollars into public schools across the state, TMO leaders worked locally to make sure Houston Independent School District used its funds for the lowest paid workers.

[Photo Credit: Top photos from footage by Univision]

Push for Pay Raises for HISD, KHOU

HISD Board Lays Out Compensation Package for 2019-2020 School Year, FOX News

Activistas Exigen Aumento del Salario Mínimo Para Trabajadores del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Houston, Univision  

Houston ISD Trustees Approve $1.9 Billion Budget, Houston Chronicle 

Video of clergy statements [first skip to 14:33 and then to 19:05]

One month after 300 Texas IAF leaders descended on the Capitol to call for investments in human development, delegations have been visiting the Capitol daily to engage legislators around school finance, the ACE fund, payday lending and infrastructure support for economically distressed areas. 

Legislative allies in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso crafted a proposed constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of bonds by the Texas Water Development Board for projects in economically distressed areas.  The proposal is almost to the finish line.

With ACE funding already in the draft budget, leaders are working to restore it to its original $10 Million.  When economist Marc Elliot from Economic Mobility delivered a presentation on the effectiveness of the Project QUEST job training model at the Capitol, representatives from over a dozen legislative offices attended. 

The QUEST model is hailed as the hitting on a "formula with a proven track record" and Texas IAF organizations across the state have applied it in Houston, Dallas, Austin, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas ACE Fund Return on Investment, Texas IAF

Nine Year Gains: Project Quest's Continuing Impact, Economic Mobility

San Antonio Program Moves Low-Skilled into Middle Class, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

Not All Programs Fade: New Report on Project QUEST RCT Shows Sizable None-Year Earnings Gains for Low-Income Workers, Straight Talk on Evidence [pdf]

Solid Evidence for Career Pathways Out of Poverty, CLASP [pdf]

[Excerpt below]

This past week, many of us sat down with our extended families at Thanksgiving celebrations. As faith leaders, we teach that family is sacred. We are moved to keep families together, so they may thrive together.

The Trump administration has proposed a policy that would force immigrant families to make an impossible choice between caring for their children, parents and grandparents and keeping their family together in the United States. The proposed changes to the 100-year-old “public charge” regulation will make it more difficult for an immigrant to become a legal permanent resident or obtain a visa to visit the United States if he is not wealthy, have a preexisting health condition, or participate in programs that support health, nutrition and housing stability....

Don't Penalize Children for Being Poor, Especially After Harvey, Houston Chronicle [pdf] 

Push Back Against Proposed Changes to 'Public Charge', TMO

Fulfilling a commitment made to TMO earlier this year, Houston Police Chief (and incoming president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association) Art Acevedo publicly urged American Outdoor Brands Corp., formerly Smith & Wesson, to examine its safety practices and standards. 

The joint letter -- signed also by Senior Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth Israel of TMO and Montgomery Police Chief (and outgoing MCCA president), J. Thomas Manger -- was accompanied with a supportive statement by the Do Not Stand Idly By campaign.  Do Not Stand Idly By is a national IAF campaign made up of law enforcement leaders, medical and public health professionals and religious leaders to promote the production and use of smart guns.

Police Chiefs, Clergy to Gunmaker: Cut Shootings by Making Guns Safer, Houston Chronicle

Cops, Priests Urge Smith & Wesson to Make Guns Safer, Bloomberg Business

TMO leaders organized seven civic academies across Harris County to educate voters about an upcoming County Bond election.  Guests, including Bayou City Initiative’s Jim Blackburn, Harris County Flood District Representatives, and Commissioner Ellis’ staff, joined the meetings.

TMO leaders then organized follow up phone banks to reach thousands of voters during the early voting period.