{"id":2919,"date":"2021-04-16T12:59:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T19:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/?p=2919"},"modified":"2023-06-26T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T20:33:56","slug":"one-step-backward-two-steps-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/2021\/04\/16\/one-step-backward-two-steps-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"One step backward, two steps forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

One step backward, two steps forward<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Well, Monday was a tough day for Pierce County.\u00a0 As you undoubtably know by now, we\u2019ve been moved back to Phase 2.\u00a0 The more restrictive rules go into effect today.<\/p>\n

Like many of our residents, I was frustrated by the rollback after all the work we have done and are doing.<\/p>\n

First, I am very thankful that our residents who are vulnerable to the most serious outcomes (those over 65 years of age) are mostly vaccinated \u2013 over 66%!<\/p>\n

Secondly, I talked with our hospital system leaders, and they assure me that they are ready and have capacity to provide care for any COVID patient in our community.\u00a0 My frustration stems from the fact that we\u2019ve been watching the county-to-county vaccination data on the State Department of Health website<\/a> since mid-February.\u00a0 It shows we are not receiving our fair share of vaccine allocations.\u00a0 The Council Chair and I wrote a letter to the governor expressing our concerns on March 29th, but with the roll back, I have to raise the alarm as loudly as I can.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not interested in getting in a public argument with state officials, it\u2019s my job to fight for the residents of our community and I plan to continue doing so.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, we are focused on moving forward!\u00a0 Just this week I submitted to the Council my proposal for how to invest the $175 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.\u00a0 We will be receiving our first of two payments in a matter of days.<\/p>\n

Many of the priorities, where we focused our CARES Act investments in 2020, are getting their own direct program funding beyond our County ARPA allocation.\u00a0 For example, we anticipate receiving nearly $130M for rental assistance, in addition to our $175M.\u00a0 That direct federal support to many of those important areas means we can use much of our county portion to address critical issues facing our county beyond recovering from the pandemic.\u00a0 We can leverage the one-time funding to help move our community forward to a better future!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve learned over the last year that home became many things: an office, a bakery, a classroom, a sanctuary, and a safe place to quarantine. \u00a0And the importance of having safe and stable housing was multiplied by COVID!<\/p>\n

So, the core of our proposal centers on the need and importance of a secure place to live. Without housing, it\u2019s difficult if not impossible, to be healthy and safe. We want to focus on ensuring every resident is housed and able to access the support they need to do so.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the high-level breakdown of how we proposed spending the ARPA funds:<\/p>\n