 You're tuned into the COVID-19 community report here on KDRT 95.7 FM in Davis, California. I'm your host, Autumn LeBae Renaud and today is Friday, April 17th. We're sharing local news and resources focusing on what's impacting Davis and nearby cities in Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the show airs live at noon on Tuesdays and Fridays and repeats at 5 p.m. both days and at noon on Sundays. You can also listen online at kdrt.org. This is episode 10 today. I've been shining a light this week on some issues that many find hard to discuss. On Tuesday we talked about food insecurity and mental health. Today we're talking about public housing and domestic violence. These are not fun topics but they're really important to address right now because while sheltering in place is hard on everyone, there are some situations it disproportionately exacerbates. My guests today are Lisa Baker, CEO of Yolo County Housing and Bridget Guerra, a legal advocate with Empower Yolo. And we'll get to our first interview in just a few minutes. If you've been listening over the last couple of weeks, I've spoken quite a bit about the role that nonprofits, including this one, play in our communities and how at risk all of us are at this time. It's become clear that loss of events, grants, and program income have begun to paint a portrait of devastation across our nonprofit landscape. Many of us who applied for the paycheck protection loans found out this week that we will not receive them because the government ran out of money for this round. Yolo County's nonprofits care for the most vulnerable in our communities and enrich the fabric of the whole county through a wide range of programs that support, teach, and connect. So I am very pleased to share that the Yolo Community Foundation is leading an unprecedented partnership with Yolo County and the cities of Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland. The project is the new COVID-19 non-profit relief initiative. These local jurisdictions are providing staff and funding to support the initiative's three components. The first is a community-wide campaign to encourage direct contributions to nonprofits, the second is a relief fund to provide grants directly to them, and the third is technical assistance to help nonprofits through the crisis. Two weeks ago, I interviewed Yolo Community Foundation's executive director, Jessica Hubbard, who says that while the initiative provides grant funding to help nonprofits seated by generous city and county donations, really the most significant part of this effort is encouraging businesses and individuals to give directly to nonprofits now because that is where the need is greatest. And Hubbard adds that while Yolo County's nonprofits are struggling with a greater demand resulting from COVID-19, funding opportunities critical to their survival are declining. I can attest to this. With the importance of social distancing, for example, it's impossible for us all to hold in-person fundraising events. And we're also losing revenue from facility closures, from freezes on paid work that require interaction in group settings, and all kinds of other unanticipated impacts. Despite this, many nonprofits are increasing services in response to the crisis or creating innovative new programs, which is exactly what we're trying to do here at KDRT and Davis Media Access. So information about the activities and the needs of Yolo County nonprofits, as well as links to donation pages, is available at the Yolo Community Foundation website, which is yolocf.org. There's a button on the left side when you go there to click for all the information on this COVID-19 project, including the Relief Fund application and technical assistance opportunities. Sincere gratitude to all working on this fund. There's so much that's gone into the launch of this, it launched yesterday. And really, also my thanks to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors for bringing it forward. We are going to take just a brief moment for music and we'll be back with our first interview. Yolo County Housing is dedicated to working together to provide quality affordable housing and community development services to all within its service area. And it's something it's done since 1950. The Housing Authority and its allied organizations provide assistance to approximately 2076 households in cities spanning Yolo County. And here to tell us more is CEO Lisa Baker. Hi there, Lisa. Hey, how are you? Good, how are you doing? Good, thank you. Sounds like you've got an adding machine going in the background there. I hope it's quiet. So your organization provides a very front line type of services. Let's start by having you tell us just a bit more about the kinds of assistance programs you run. Sure, we run a variety of programs around the area of housing and community development. Our biggest program is probably one most people are familiar with, which is the Housing Voucher Program, where we provide rental subsidy to residents who rent either in other affordable housing units or in the market. And then we also are the owners and managers of property, including public housing and tax credit properties. And we are partners in development of housing. And then sometimes we're funders of the construction of affordable housing. And when we're not doing that, we're also the largest provider of migrant farm worker housing for migrant families during the farm worker season. And then separately, we have in-house services devoted to self sufficiency and resilience building. And we also do grants work in the area of community development and services for communities that we serve. You and I have talked a lot over the years and I'm always astounded by how much work comes out of your office. So one question I've had is, you know, public housing is often involves multi-dwelling units. So with the COVID-19 pandemic, have you had to develop any particular containment strategies for all the properties? Well, I think that's the case for anybody who's providing a group settings, whether that's being in a city or a county in their communities or the housing authority or other property managers. We do have to adapt to the pandemic and do the work that we need to do in order to keep our families as safe as one can be in this uncertain climate. And so, yes, that has meant doing things like closing all nine of our offices to foot traffic. So we are handling our day-to-day work since all our personnel are essential, essential function personnel. So we are still at work, even though you might not be seeing us as much as one normally does. And so we're taking our work in through mail, email, fax, and phone call. And we are continuing to provide those services, property management, maintenance, and sort of the financial backing piece on the processing of rent payments and subsidy payments on behalf of people. We're just doing it in a completely different way so that both our residents and our staff can remain safe. Certainly. So with the rather grim economic picture we're all looking at, I'm going to imagine that there are going to be more and more people perhaps in need of your services. How do you even begin to wrap your your head around that? Well, I think it's no secret that it was already difficult. Well, true. Yes. Heading into this and we were kind of in an unprecedented shortage of housing of any type, but especially housing affordable to people. So I think when we mean affordable housing, I think we're often very much thinking about that that one or two person family making less than say $14,000 a year and that's true. But many sort of folks still fall into an affordability space all the way up to maybe about $60,000 a year for a family of four. And all of these families were very disadvantaged before the pandemic hit and now at this sort of unprecedented loss of economic marketplace funding in the marketplace. Yes, our demand has really skyrocketed and it's really only the tip of the iceberg because we're going to really know what the impacts are after the pandemic ends. Right now there's a little bit of a safe harbor because there's eviction protection and there's mortgage forbearance. But that doesn't mean those funds won't be due when the pandemic ends. They will still need to be, they will still be there waiting to be paid. And that's the part that we need to start doing the advanced planning on. Right. And I imagine, you know, we're seeing both the state and federal government respond to with a variety of economic stimuli. And I'm hoping that there's something specific that will be addressing the housing affordability issue. But what? So I do think that that's on top of mind for folks. And we are having those conversations. I think a really good example of that is the federal CARES Act that passed. There was quite a bit of funding in that for housing authorities in particular. And that money is just starting to roll out. And we're working through the guidance that we've gotten on what we can do with that, whether that means it's there to help stabilize the families we're already serving, which for us is almost 3,000 families in Yolo. Or if we're going to be allowed to expand our capacity under that CARES Act. And in the meantime, we're already working with our fellow agencies around the country on advocating for a round two package that will actually start to address what these downstream effects could be. Yeah. So the housing authority is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. And I think you had a big celebration planned that now is probably not going to happen. I also wanted to ask you about the community development piece, because the thing that you and I have talked a lot about is all the ways that you work to build community within the various residential projects and all of that, including things like after-school programs. So there's a lot that's not happening. How do you begin to navigate around that? How will you celebrate when you can't celebrate in person? A really good question. I think we're celebrating by doing the work. I was just thinking about our 70th anniversary and sort of within the context of housing authorities in general. We were born in the Great Depression, so we were there for the Great Depression when folks were mustered out at the end of World War II and needed affordable housing. We were there for those returning servicemen. When there was the gas crisis and the credit crunch in the 1980s, housing authorities filled that gap and served those families. And those are all predating my time in the industry. But we were there for folks in the natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina and the campfire. And Yolo took refugees from both of those events. And so we know our brother and sister agencies are there for us, should a terrible catastrophe also strike us. We've been there for the families in the Great Recession, and we're here for you in the global pandemic. So I think the best way to celebrate our 70 years is to be here for you. Well said. If someone wants to find out more about you or get information about, you know, getting housing, what are the best ways to contact your organization? Well, I will give you the best ways to contact the organization. I just want to touch on the service piece, and I know you're going to be talking to Empower Yolo, which is one of our many partners. And you're right, it's difficult. We have after-school learning centers, after-school programs. We have medical and dental things for our farm worker families when they're coming. And most of those are done in a group setting, and that can't happen right now. So we have taken our social service folks and our MSW internship program, and we have sort of revamped them into a wellness unit. And so we are doing call-outs to identify our most vulnerable families in all of our programs. And then we are putting them to either do information referrals to our service partners, be that connection, or for folks that are just socially isolated, where they're sort of weekly or bi-weekly call to keep them connected to the rest of humanity. And so we've got folks on the front lines there making those calls every single day and making those connections. So very proud of the work that they're doing, very proud of the work that the folks in the office are doing. I mean, if you're paying an income-based rent and you're in one of our programs, when you suffer a loss of income, you don't have to not pay your rent and then have a big bill at the end. You can notify us and get your rent reduced for the following month, and that's one way we're going to be protecting you if you're in our portfolio. If you want to find out more about us, best way to kind of follow us along is on Facebook at YOLO Housing. And if you want to contact us directly, we have an inbox that we monitor that you can get through our webpage at www.ych.ca.gov and our main office number is 530-662-5428. We have nine offices throughout the county to serve you, but right now we're going to be serving you remotely and it's still there for you. Good, and I hope that you and all your staff, you do so much work, so please stay safe, stay well while you're doing it, and thank you so much for making time to talk with us today. I appreciate that. Thank you for having me on. All right, take care. You too. Bye-bye. That was Lisa Baker, the CEO of YOLO Housing, and Lisa is someone I've known for years. We get together and brainstorm ideas occasionally, and she's one of the few people who has the capacity to make me feel like a slacker, and it's not her fault. It's just the woman does so much, much respect to Lisa. I'm going to read a few announcements, and then we'll take a brief music break, and we'll be back with our second interview. Lisa touched on the work that her agency does with farm workers, and on Wednesday, $125 million in disaster relief assistance for working Californians that will provide financial support to undocumented immigrants impacted by the COVID-19 crisis was put forth by Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the state will provide $70 million in disaster relief assistance, and grant makers concerned with immigrants and refugees, a network of foundations focused on immigration issues have committed to raising an additional $50 million. The fund is expected to provide a one-time payment of $500 per individual or 1,000 per household, and you're right, that is not a lot, but it is a step in the right direction. Of course, this announcement was met with some pushback, but I want to say that many of these workers serve in essential capacities as farm workers, and a little reminder that California grows much of the food for the rest of the nation, and we would be sort of lost without our farm workers. People who clean hospitals and more, they're not eligible for unemployment payments of the federal government stimulus checks, and Gavin Newsom said that every California, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to support them during this crisis. And speaking of support for essential folks, local law firm Colcarny Law is providing some free legal services, such as creating a will to first responders and healthcare workers. Yes, that is a heavy thought, but that is a generous offer. You can learn more by emailing staff at Colcarny Law, and I'm going to spell that K-U-L-K-A-R-N-I-L-A-W, Colcarny Law. All right, students at Davis Senior High School Newspaper, The Hub, along with their teacher Kelly Wilkerson, continued to produce an informative podcast about the local experience during COVID-19. And if you know me, you have to know that kids making media is one of my favorite things in the whole world, so I love their podcast. Their latest offering examines the huge shift online learning from a teacher's perspective. You can catch it online at BlueDevil Hub, bluedevilhub.com. And we are going to hear a little bit more music and get set up for our next call. Okay, our next interview focuses on Empower Yolo. The organization provides 24-hour crisis intervention, emergency shelter, confidential counseling, training, legal assistance, and other services for individuals and families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, and child abuse. With us today is Bridget Guerra, who's a legal advocate for Empower Yolo. Bridget, thank you for joining us. Hi, thank you for having me. So I mentioned earlier in the show that the shelter in place order is harder for some than others. How is the pandemic affecting the populations in Empower Yolo serves? What are you seeing? So what we're definitely seeing is a significant spike in domestic violence since the shelter in place order. And we believe that that's attributed by, of course, survivors, victims being confined in their home with their abusers day and night. We certainly see a significant financial stress building up in the home, isolation from support like friends and family, and essentially separate ties from the community that they would otherwise be available to outside of the quarantine. So as a result, we're seeing a significant increase in restraining order petitions that we're doing, we're doing at least four days. And that certainly wasn't the case before the quarantine was in place. Wow, that's that's a daunting number there you just mentioned. Yeah. Yeah. So what kinds of help are you providing in addition to helping file those restraining orders? What other kinds of assistance are you really being is Empower Yolo really being called upon to to provide right now? Of course. So we're continuing to provide our normal services, along with restraining order clinics. We offer family law legal clinics to assist family law matters outside the scope of restraining orders, such as divorce petitions, custody matters. We continue to have our clothing closet open from 9am to 3pm. We continue to assist with food distribution in Yolo, night's landing and savings. We continue our therapy sessions online and we have we still have our shelter open. Of course, at this time, though, I will note that we have to only limited to Yolo County residents for our shelter. But that's not to say that we can't provide another avenue for housing for the community, because we're working closely with Yolo County Housing Department to house homeless seniors that are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. So we can house them as well. And all of that can be available for the community if they call our 24 hour crisis flying. Yeah, I just my first interview was with Lisa Baker of Yolo Housing and she mentioned Empower Yolo. So I kind of love that that you mentioned them to and it's great to know about that reciprocity of work that's going on. So if someone is at risk for one of these areas that that we've mentioned already, what should they do? Well, certainly my first advice would be if they have access to a safe telephone, then they can call our 24 hour crisis line at 530-662-1133 and I'll just repeat that 530-662-1133. And they should be aware that we at Empower Yolo continue to operate our offices during regular hours in Woodland, Davis, and like landing and then by appointment at West Sacramento. And of course, they're all at a safe location such as our West Sacramento PD. And we continue to keep our offices open so we can remain available to serve in the community. Great. And I imagine that others can call that that crisis line as well if they have a concern about a friend or family member, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. They can also call our main business line at 530-661-6336 in case they want to inquire about services for friends and family. We get that all the time, of course, and our wonderful client navigators are always able to navigate the callers to the appropriate department or department for that assistance. Okay. And apart from financial support because, you know, I've been talking a lot about nonprofits and how we are all going to need financial support to get through this, are there donations of other goods or services that that Empower Yolo welcomes? And if so, how would we get them to you? Of course. So, along with monetary donations, we are, you know, looking for donations from cleaning supplies, sanitizer, toilet paper, water, really anything that someone would like to donate along those lines. And if they ever have a question regarding whether or not they can donate something, then I again would refer them to call our main business line so that we can just check in with them and make sure it all goes well. All right. And donations to the clothing closet as well. Are you looking for anything in particular? Yeah. So, we're usually looking for women's clothes, children's and at this point, we've been needing more men's clothes as well. So, really just clothing and the fact that if they are seeking to donate them again, I would refer them to call the main line. Okay. I'm going to repeat the line, the lines you gave just to make sure we have those right. So, the main business line for Empower Yolo is 530-661-6336. Do I have that right? Mm-hmm. And the 24-hour crisis line, 530-662-1133. Yeah. All right. I really want to thank you for taking time to call in today. And is there any closing thoughts you have before we sign off here? Yeah. Just to know that Empower Yolo is here to continue our community in whatever state that we find ourselves in and that we are here for the community. Great. Well, we thank you for your work. And thanks for making time for the interview today. Of course. All right. Thank you so much. All right. Take care. That was Brigitte Guerra, a legal advocate with Empower Yolo. I'm going to cut to music for just a minute, and then I'll be back to wrap up. As I mentioned earlier, this is Episode 10, and I want to really thank everyone who's been tuning in and giving feedback on the show. It's felt like a very tangible way to get helpful information out there, local information.