Originally published on Inside Policy & Politics on Chron.com on July 27, 2021.

Written by Miguel Macias

Miguel is an inaugural Harris Fellow and is working in the communications office of Treasurer Dylan Osborne.

It is well known that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant financial hardships throughout the United States, and Harris County is no exception. The impact of the COVID-19 virus has been so devastating that a $2 trillion federal stimulus bill – known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act — was signed into law in March 2020 in response to the economic downturn.¹ The CARES Act is the largest governmental stimulus package thus far in the history of the United States.

The stimulus bill funds efforts to support small and large businesses, industries, unemployed workers, families, healthcare systems and hospitals. Additionally, out of the $2 trillion package, $150 billion was set aside for state and local governments, with Harris County receiving $427 million in aid. Of the $427 million, $252 million or 59% went to community programs, $66 million was allocated to direct assistance, and $43 million was designated to rental assistance programs.²

Figure 1
Source: Budget, Harris County. CARES Funding Summary. Dec. 8, 2020. Harriscountytx.gov https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/CARES/CARES_FundSummary_DEC_120820.pdf

Harris County, the third largest county in the nation with approximately 4.713 million residents (2019), was greatly impacted by the pandemic, experiencing a massive unemployment spike, more than triple what it was pre-pandemic.³ As of February 2020, the Harris County pre-pandemic unemployment rate was 3.9%, and at one point during the pandemic, it reached its peak at 14.5% with a 10.6% increase.⁴ Either through the loss of a job or a business, or reduced wages, the global pandemic has had a massive financial toll on Harris County residents.

One way that the Harris County government has tried to alleviate financial distress for its residents is through its direct assistance program. Working with Catholic Charities, eligible households were able to receive a one-time $1200 payment, which could be used for expenses such as rent, utilities, food, healthcare and childcare. The direct assistance program was pivotal in helping individuals and families in vulnerable communities that were struggling to survive and make ends meet. According to data from Catholic Charities, around $60 million was distributed to eligible applicants, with 70,698 applications being selected and 50,000 families helped in total.⁵ Furthermore, each of the four precincts received roughly around $15 million in assistance: $15,417,600 for Precinct 1, $14,821,200 for Precinct 2, $14,455,200 for Precinct 3 and $15,306,000 for Precinct 4.⁶

Figure 2
Source: CatholicCharitiesHelp. Data. Dec. 31, 2020. CatholicCharitiesHelp.org.
https://catholiccharitieshelp.org/data/

While the CARES Act has provided temporary solutions to a much greater ongoing problem, it has played a pivotal role in alleviating the financial distress inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic on Harris County residents. Given ongoing employment and rent issues throughout the past year and a half, low income and other vulnerable populations are worse off now and struggling to keep up with the cost of living. Despite a growing portion of the population becoming vaccinated and businesses opening up, there are still many individuals and families relying on government assistance to survive. Fortunately, new government assistance programs are being funded in order to help residents in need, such as the new $159 million Houston-Harris County Rental Assistance Relief Fund that provides funds for eligible families with rent and utilities costs.⁷

While the unemployment rate has decreased (6.6% as of May 2019) and conditions are improving, Harris County government officials still have a responsibility to address how best to assist those most in need. Harris County residents must encourage their representatives to do everything in their power to continue funding these programs and make them as accessible and easy to navigate as possible. Residents of the largest and arguably the most dynamic county in Texas deserve no less.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author.

Sources:

1. https://www.investopedia.com/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-4800707
2. https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/CARES/CARES_FundSummary_DEC_120820.pdf
3. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/harriscountytexas/PST045219
4. https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/texas-unemployment/
5. https://catholiccharitieshelp.org/data/
6. https://catholiccharitieshelp.org/data/
7. https://www.houstonharrishelp.org/