Read the original article on HUD.gov.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is awarding $962,160 in funding to HUD Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies in New York, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Texas, Indiana, Florida, Nebraska, Hawaii, South Carolina, Maryland, Michigan, Connecticut, and New Jersey to support activities related to COVID-19. The awards to the nineteen organizations are part of $1.5 million in Partnership and Special Enforcement Effort funds being provided to FHAP agencies through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) of 2020, which President Trump signed into law to provide federal agencies with the resources needed to combat COVID-19.

“The funds being awarded today will do much to help these organizations address potential fair housing issues related to COVID-19,” said Anna María Farías, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “FHAP agencies not only have considerable knowledge about how the virus is affecting communities they serve, they are adept at making the most of financial resources they receive.”

The New York State Division of Human Rights is receiving $144,485 to fund the hiring of additional staff to address its backlog of cases that was created by the alteration of work processes due to COVID-19, and purchase technology that will improve the agency’s ability to function in a 100 percent remote environment…