Little Rock Awarded Nearly $2 Million In Federal Grants For Coronavirus

Press release from the City of Little Rock:

April 08, 2020

The City of Little Rock has been awarded nearly $2 million in federal grants to assist with the City’s COVID-19 crisis response.

The Emergency Management Division has been awarded $786,845 from the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF) program. While the City Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs has been awarded $960,265 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. CESF allowable projects include, but are not limited to:

• Overtime
• Equipment (including law enforcement and medical personal protective equipment)
• Hiring
• Supplies (such as gloves, masks, sanitizer)
• Training
• Travel expenses
• Addressing medical needs of inmates

In CARES Act funding, which comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City will receive $879,049 for the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and $81,216 for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program.

CDBG allowable projects include, but are not limited to:

• Rehabilitate a community facility to establish an infectious disease treatment clinic.
• Acquire, and quickly rehabilitate (if necessary) a motel or hotel building to expand capacity of hospitals to accommodate isolation of patients during recovery.
• Provide grants or loans to support new businesses or business expansion to create jobs and manufacture medical supplies necessary to respond to infectious disease
• Carry out job training to expand the pool of health care workers and technicians that are available to treat disease within a community.
• Provide testing, diagnosis or other services at a fixed or mobile location.
• Deliver meals on wheels to quarantined individuals or individuals that need to maintain social distancing due to medical vulnerabilities.
• Provide equipment, supplies, and materials necessary to carry-out a public service.

HOPWA funding may be used to help eligible households access essential services and supplies such as:

• Food, water, medications, medical care, and information;
• Educating assisted households on ways to reduce the risk of getting sick or spreading infectious diseases such as COVID-19 to others;
• Transportation services (including costs for privately owned vehicle transportation when needed, to access medical care, supplies, and food or to commute to places of employment);
• Nutrition services (in the form of food banks, groceries, and meal deliveries);
• Providing lodging at hotels, motels, or other locations to quarantine;
• Providing short-term rent, mortgage, and utility (STRMU) assistance payments to prevent homelessness of a tenant or mortgagor of a dwelling for a period of up to 24 months.

Residents are encouraged to “Stay In and Tell a Friend” to practice social distancing. They can also visit LittleRock.gov/covid19 to gain further insight about how to best to protect themselves and their loved ones.

This press release was produced by the City of Little Rock. The views expressed here are the author’s own.