UPDATES
Housing
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) created the Emergency Rental Assistance Subsidy Program to help assist Los Angeles County residents, regardless of immigration status, to provide temporary rent subsidy to those unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 pandemic circumstances.
The subsidy will provide a grant of up to $1,000 per month to cover the monthly lease rent (based on the rent paid as of March 1, 2020), with a maximum of $2,000 per household. The rent subsidy will be paid directly to the tenant’s landlord on the tenant’s behalf.
This program will be available to renters of multifamily rental housing who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Residents of the City of Los Angeles, regardless of immigration status. To verify if you live in the City of Los Angeles, go to: neighborhoodinfo.lacity.org;
- Households that can provide proof of tenancy;
- Household annual income at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) level prior to the COVID-19 crisis; and
- Households that can provide documentation of loss or reduction of income due to COVID-19 after March 13, 2020.
Application opens Monday, July 13, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
[Applications will be accepted from Monday, July 13 at 8:00 AM through Friday, July 17 at 11:59 PM.]
COVID-19 Renter Protection:
To assist tenants collaborate with their landlords, HCIDLA is providing a fact sheet and a sample notification form to assist in notifying your landlord of delays in paying your rent during this emergency order period.
The COVID-19 Renter Protections Fact Sheet can also assist landlords to provide such notice to all tenants as required by Ordinance No. 186585.
Summary of the protections in place for residential tenancies.
- No owner can evict a residential tenant for nonpayment of rent if the tenant is unable to pay rent due to circumstance related to the COVID-19, such as:
- Loss of income due to workplace closure or reduced hours due to COVID-19
- Loss of income or increased child care expenditures due to school closures
- Health care expenditures stemming from COVID-19 infection of the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household who is ill with COVID-19
- Reasonable expenditures stemming from government ordered emergency measures.
“Tenants are still obligated to pay lawfully charged rent.”
However, during the emergency period, tenants may not be evicted for failure to pay rent due to the financial impacts related to COVID-19. Tenants will have up to 12 months following the expiration of the local emergency to repay any back rent due. On March 30, 2020, the City Council extended the repayment period from 6 to 12 months. - No property owner shall exercise a No-fault Eviction during the Local Emergency Period. No-Fault evictions means those not based on an alleged fault of the tenant.
- No property owner may withdraw an occupied residential unit from the rental housing market under the Ellis Act.
- Landlords may not evict tenants due to the presence of unauthorized occupants, pets or nuisance related to COVID-19.
- Landlords may not charge interest or late fees on unpaid rent due to COVID-19.
Landlords are required to give written notice of the renter protections to tenants within 30 days of March 31, 2020.
Advice for Renters:
- Know your rights, if you can’t pay your rent, don’t leave your home but communicate with your landlord. Let them know in writing about your economic circumstances as a result of COVID-19; Make a plan; Landlords cannot force tenants to provide documents of lost income or hardship; Renters are not required to sign any payment agreements; For more information, please visit: hcidla.lacity.org/covid-19-renter-protections or call: (866) 557-7368. Attached is a fact sheet in English; Spanish is forthcoming. Please click here for HCID’s video on tenant protections
Eviction Protection:
- Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that authorizes local governments to halt evictions for renters and homeowners, slows foreclosures, and protects against utility shutoffs for Californians affected by COVID-19. The order does not relieve a tenant from the obligation to pay rent, or restrict the landlord’s ability to recover rent that is due. The protections are in effect through May 31, 2020, unless extended. The order also requests banks and other financial institutions to halt foreclosures and related evictions during this time period. The full Executive Order can be found here.
- On March 19, 2020, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, signed an Executive Order which includes the moratorium on residential and commercial evictions. The moratorium covers tenants retroactively from March 4, 2020 to May 31, 2020. For view the complete proclamation, click here.
- Learn more at: https://hcidla.lacity.org/covid-19-eviction-moratorium
More Resources:
Utility Bill Relief:
Information on bill relief from LA County Public Works and So Cal Edison
Employment
04/30/2020 California Employment Development Department (EDD) News Release – Korean Translation
캘리포니아주 고용개발국 팬데믹 실업지원 업데이트 – 4.30.자 보도자료 발췌 (한국어)
California Employment Development Department (EDD):
Unemployment Insurance (UI) & Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)- Korean Application Guide//
캘리포니아주 고용개발국 코비드19 실업수당(UI, PUA) 신청 안내
The Korean American Coalition created a Korean Guide for Unemployment Benefits to help our community apply for Unemployment Benefits on the California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) Website.
This guide can help you:
- How to navigate the EDD website and Learn about EDD Programs related to COVID-19.
- Apply online for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Application with step-by-step instructions in Korean.
- Get information on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) as part of the federal CARES Act. Please note that EDD will begin accepting online PUA applications for this program on Tuesday, April 28.
Translated by the Korean American Coalition (KAC) – Los Angeles, we hope that this guide can be helpful to our Korean American community during this time.
Employer Assistance Fund:
- The Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS) is launching the LA County Employer Assistance Grant Fund on Thursday, April 9.
- The LA County Employer Assistance Grant Fund will provide a total of $500,000 to local businesses. Individual businesses may be awarded up to $10,000 based on demonstrated need. Approximately 25% of awards will be reserved for social enterprises that demonstrate a need and ability to serve vulnerable populations. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis, and will close once 150 applications are received.
- The webinar record to guide businesses on the application process can be found here.
- The application site will open on Thursday, April 9, at 8:00am: workforce.lacounty.gov
More Resources:
IRS New Website for Stimulus Checks
- The IRS launched a new website for Americans to check the status of their stimulus checks. The site allows users to update bank account and mailing address, file 2018 or 2019 federal income taxes, and access details on eligibility.
Benefits for Workers Impacted by Coronavirus:
Chart of Benefits by Labor and Workforce Development Agency
Restaurant Employee Relief Fund:
- Through the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, the National Restaurant Association will provide grants to restaurant industry employees who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19, financially, whether through a decrease in wages or loss of employment. Grants will be awarded on a first-come first served basis.
Rapid Response Layoff Aversion:
Specialized Business Service Representatives can work with you and your employees to minimize losses and improve morale. We can also assist your business with strategic planning to ensure that your business does not face a similar situation in the future.
Unemployment Insurance (UI)/Work Sharing Program:
- Employers can apply for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Work Sharing Program through the California Employment Development Department (EDD) if reduced production, services, or other conditions cause them to seek an alternative to layoffs. The Work Sharing Program helps employers minimize or eliminate the need for layoffs, keep trained employees and quickly prepare when business conditions improve, and avoid the cost of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. More info here, click here.
School Closures
Rapid Response Layoff Aversion:
NBC News put together a list of schools and when they are closed until. Dates may change as conditions do; check back for updates or reach out to your school district to learn more: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/socal-public-school-closures/2328932/
Food
Free Healthy Grab n' Go Meals at Anderson Munger Family YMCA
Critical Delivery Service for Older/Dependent Adults
CalFresh:
The state of California has authorized an emergency CalFresh benefit allotment for eligible households.
- Emergency CalFresh benefits for March will be issued on Sunday, April 12 and for April on Sunday, May 10.
- You may check your benefit balance online at https://www.yourbenefits.laclrs.org/ybn/Index.html or on the DPSS Mobile App.
More Resources:
Meals for Students:
LAUSD is opening 60 grab & go food centers across the County where you can pick up food for your children.
Meals for Seniors:
The Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services and the City of Los Angeles Department of Aging operate congregate meal sites, primarily at senior centers and parks. To ensure older adults continue to receive meals in a manner that reduces exposure and risk to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), all sites that serve congregate meals will transition to distribute packaged/frozen meals or home-delivered meals.
Public Health & Safety
Dept. of Public Health updates Guidelines on Self-Isolation (May 4, 2020):
So since the beginning, DPH has shared that if you show symptoms/test positive for coronavirus, you should self-isolate for 7 days, plus 3 days without any symptoms (whichever is longer). That guidance has changed. It is now 10 days of self-isolation, because it has been found that the virus could still be spreading with the old 7 days recommendation. The same thing applies in that you need to be 3 days symptom free, so it could be longer than 10 days. The change can be found here under #4. Also pay attention to the new symptoms listed under #3. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/about/FAQ.pdf
- As an example (because I know this day guidance can be confusing), let’s say you have both a fever and shaking with chills. You may not be able to get a test, so you should assume you have coronavirus and should self isolate. You need to isolate for 10 days. But let’s say you still have a fever on day 8, and it doesn’t go away without medication until day 9. You need to continue to isolate until day 12.
LA County updates COVID-19 resources:
Testing is available for EVERYONE:
General
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coronavirus Resources:
Government’s Response to Coronavirus
- https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus
- Governor’s Response to Coronavirus:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- Public Health Emergency Updates:
Los Angeles County
- Parks are closed this weekend, stay home: On Sunday, our parks will be altogether closed, except for the bathrooms. No one will be allowed to walk through the parks. We will have park rangers and LAPD monitoring these areas. Parks will be closed evening of Saturday, April11- Morning of Monday, April 13; All other closures remain in place (rec centers & trails).
Hand-washing stations:
- Washing stations on the streets will be checked daily for water and paper towels and for cleanliness, instead of once per week.
Overflow of trash pick-up for FREE:
- Temporarily offer free extra collection in those black or blue bins on your regularly scheduled collection days: HERE’S HOW: Meet the drivers at the curb, after they empty the bin, you can add more to it and they will empty that as well; Starts Monday til Safer at Home order is lifted; Call 1-800-773-2489 — to call sanitation or call 311 during the workweek.
*THE MAYOR’S WORKER PROTECTION ORDINANCE IS NOW IN EFFECT*:
- Must allow workers to wash their hands or sanitize every 30 minutes
- Must provide or reimburse employees for face coverings
- Clean, fully-stocked restrooms
- Physical distancing between workers and everyone else
- Hand Sanitizer at key touch points
- All customers who enter businesses must wear face covering
Alert LA County is a free mass notification system for Los Angeles County residents and businesses.
Updated LA County DPH Coronavirus Website:
The website has been updated with new guidance documents, some in-language. If there are ones that you feel should be translated in-language, please let me know and I can elevate the request. Please note that capacity is stretched right now so this may take time.
Update on Dispute Resolution Services:
WDACS and the County’s Human Relations Commission partner with 11 agencies to provide dispute resolution services (also known as mediation services) to residents across the County. We provide three types of mediation services: Community Mediations, Mediation services at the Courts, and Victim/Offender mediations. Below is an update on service closures or modifications for each type of mediation service:
- Mediation Services at the Courts: All mediation services based at the courts are temporarily suspended.
- Victim/Offender Mediation Services: The California Conference for Equality and Justice is providing Victim/Offender Services via telephone/videoconference. The other agencies are closed.
- Community Mediations: The following agencies are providing community mediation services via telephone/videoconference: Los Angeles City Attorney, Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, Loyola Law School, Korean American Coalition, California Lawyers for the Arts, California Conference for Equality and Justice, and Asian Pacific and American Dispute Resolution Center.
Technology
How consumers can protect themselves from coronavirus scams:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/cnn-underscored/coronavirus-fraud/
Racism & Xenophobia
Reporting Racism/Xenophobia:
- If you have experienced any form of discrimination due to COVID-19, please Report Coronavirus Anti-Asian Racism incidents.
- 211 is now taking reports of racism/xenophobia related to coronavirus. If you have been the victim of or witness to an act of violence, bullying, harassment, threat, or other act motivated by hate, please fill out the Hate Incident Report Form or call 2-1-1 to file a report and be connected to support services.
Preventing Stigma and Hate During the Coronavirus Outbreak:
As we work to help County residents deal with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we also need to contain the spread of fear, hostility, discrimination and hate that is at times happening in our communities and throughout the nation. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Be sensitive to explicit and implicit biases towards others
- Do not make assumptions based on a person’s ethnicity, race, and/or nationality
- Do not make assumptions that a person has been exposed to COVID-19 based on ethnicity, race, and/or nationality
- Do not assume a person has COVID-19 because they are wearing a mask
- Educate yourself by getting the facts about COVID-19 from reliable sources such as LA County Department of Public Health.
- Speak up when you hear false rumors or negative stereotypes that foster biases and potential racism
Small Business Support
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce announced a new Small Business grant from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The Foundation set up a new Save Small Business Fund in partnership with Vistaprint and a coalition of supporting companies, foundations and donors. Unfortunately, the Small Business Grant is no longer accepting applications due to the large number of applicants on the opening day, April 20, 2020.
Please refer to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website for additional resources:
- https://www.uschamber.com/save-small-business
- The fund is providing $5,000 in short-term relief to employers across the country. These one-time supplemental cash grants are for businesses that have between three and 20 employees and operate in an economically vulnerable community.
- The grant application will go live on April 20 at 12:00 p.m. PST.
Small Business Support:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to California small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Further information about PPP and EIDL can be found here: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options
- Find you PPP Lender by Zip Code: https://www.sba.gov/paycheckprotection/find
- Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call (800) 877-8339.
- LA Cares Corps will help apply for the loans, which one is best, and how they apply at the City, State, and County level; for more info, please visit: coronavirus.lacity.org/CARESCORPS
- Small Business Owner’s Guide to CARES Act guide (updated April1, 2020):
English: https://komartin.com/cares-en.pdf
Korean: https://komartin.com/cares-kr-v2.pdf
*Details of the Loan program could change from time to time so please check the most recent information on the US government and SBA website*