Last Week, Governor Sununu announced that $35 million from the federal funding the state received through the CARES Act will be used to create the NH Housing Relief Program. This new program will support individuals and families in need of housing assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Complete details about how the program will work have not yet been released, but we do know that this funding will be administered by the Community Action Program agencies throughout the state. Using these new funds, CAP agencies will be able to provide one-time grants to cover past-due rent and other eligible housing expenses, as well as ongoing short-term rental assistance. Information is available here.
 
We look forward to working with our local CAP agencies to help our residents maintain safe and stable housing as the COVID-19 crisis continues. We are extremely grateful to Governor Sununu and the advisory boards to the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery for listening to input from a range of stakeholders and making housing stability a priority in their deliberations. We also thank our Congressional delegation for their work on the CARES Act to ensure that New Hampshire has access to emergency funding.

LRCD joined fellow NeighborWorks America members across the nation in celebrating NeighborWorks Week from June 6–13.

NeighborWorks America is a nationwide network of excellence made up of 250 housing and community development organizations. LRCD has been a chartered member of NeighborWorks America since 2000. As a member of NeighborWorks America, LRCD receives crucial operating funds, and  has access to valuable peer-exchange learning opportunities, technical assistance, performance evaluation tools, and professional development for staff. NeighborWorks is considered the nation's leading trainer of housing and community development professionals. 
 
Every year in early June, hundreds of NeighborWorks organizations around the country mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers, businesspeople, neighbors, friends, and civic leaders in a week of neighborhood change and awareness.

Last week, LRCD enthusiastically joined in the fun of NeighborWorks Week at several LRCD properties including community garden projects in Wolfeboro and Meredith and one flower planting in Laconia.

What are the best practices for using reusable bags during the pandemic?
Maintaining a sustainable lifestyle and reducing plastic pollution is still possible when proper precautions are taken. Here are a few best practices for reusable bags:

• Follow local, state and federal guidelines and store policies, there is still a ban on reusable bags in NH. If reusable bags are not currently allowed, consider asking for your purchased items to be placed back in your cart so you can bag them yourself in your reusable bag outside the store.
• If you have a small quantity of items, self-checkout is a great way to practice social distancing and limit face-to-face exposure, often without needing a bag at all.
• Fabric reusable bags are a better choice than reusable bags made from plastic normally, and may be even more so now as the coronavirus has been shown to last longer on plastics than on other materials. Non-plastic items can also be washed thoroughly in hot water and soap.
• Just as with the clothes you wear, make sure that your reusable bags are properly cleaned prior to each use.
• After every use outside your home, it is encouraged that  wash your fabric reusable bags with soap and hot water either in the laundry or by hand, and disinfect reusable bags made from plastic. Disinfection should be the same for other surfaces (e.g. 70% alcohol based or properly diluted bleach solution).