CANCELLED: NLIHC Housing Policy Forum; updates on Coronavirus and Housing/Homelessness

Dear Members, Partners and Friends,

Thank you for registering for NLIHC's 2020 Housing Policy Forum, scheduled to take place on March 25-27. Other NLIHC events planned that week include our state partners' meeting, a special session for resident leaders, a Capitol Hill Day, and our annual Housing Leadership Awards Reception.

With coronavirus spreading in the United States, and with the health and safety of all attendees, their families, and their communities as our top priority, we are regretfully cancelling the Housing Policy Forum and Capitol Hill Day and postponing the Housing Leadership Awards Reception. We will refund you 100% of your registration fee and will process your refunds soon.

This is an extremely difficult decision given how hard the NLIHC team has planned for what I am certain would have been an outstanding conference, and how much we were looking forward to reconnecting, learning, strategizing, and building power with all of you. But you have important work to do back home in your communities, and we need our movement to end homelessness and housing poverty to be healthy and strong.

There is still much we don't know about the virus and its spread, and health professionals are providing practical ways people can protect themselves and their communities (see: https://bit.ly/2TFCUSA). Here's what we do know: the CDC has issued guidance advising that people over 60 years old or those with underlying health conditions should avoid crowds. Many of our conference participants meet this definition. Additionally, the CDC recommended issuing guidance that seniors and people with underlying health issues not fly on commercial airlines because of the coronavirus, but the White House would not allow such guidance to be issued. We take this guidance from our country's leading health professionals very seriously.

Ultimately, we concluded that we simply cannot risk having our gathering contribute to illness for you or for the people and communities you work with back home.

If you have already scheduled time during Capitol Hill Day with your member of Congress or their staff, keep the time on your calendars and turn the meeting into a call!It is as important as ever to share our policy priorities with policymakers.A rescheduled webinar on NLIHC's policy priorities - when we'll launch our new Legislative Action Center - will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m. ET. You can register at this link.