In Senate hearing, Sinema highlights her own family’s struggles, underscores need for the federal government to provide critical resources
WASHINGTON – During a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema today discussed the impacts of homelessness on Arizona seniors and families during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Sinema highlighted her own family’s struggles while growing up to underscore the need for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide critical resources to Arizonans facing and experiencing homelessness through no fault of their own.
“I was homeless as a child, and my family lived in housing insecurity for over three years… I am looking for the Department of Housing to provide more empathy and active assistance to families on the verge of losing their homes, like my family did, because of tough times. Right now, hundreds of families in Arizona are facing tough times through no fault of their own, through a global pandemic… and they are on the verge of homelessness without an end in sight,” said Sinema.
Sinema urged HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson to provide technical assistance and support to help the State of Arizona assist struggling renters into obtaining rent relief through the Arizona Department of Housing. Sinema also highlighted that the rate of seniors experiencing homelessness in Arizona has doubled in the last few years, and pressed the Secretary to identify and advance innovative solutions to help seniors keep their homes.
Sinema recently secured a commitment from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to partner together and launch a new website to help Arizona renters and homeowners learn more about all the resources and assistance available to them during the coronavirus pandemic. Sinema and a group of Senators from the Banking Committee also recently introduced legislation providing a new $75 billion Housing Assistance Fund to help everyday Arizona families afford rent, mortgage, and utility payments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sinema has also added a resources page to her website, www.sinema.senate.gov/corona, for Arizonans looking for the latest information on coronavirus.
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