Tate Reeves announces emergency childcare, help for homeowners because of coronavirus
Homeowners will receive up to six months of mortgage relief and essential workers will have access to emergency childcare centers under programs Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We are in the middle of a fight for our state,” Reeves said during his afternoon news conference “ . . . Please stay strong. Stay in the fight.”
He added, “We are at our near our (coronavirus) peak in Mississippi. This is the most painful time. This is the hardest time. It is the beginning of a turning point but we haven’t gotten past our peak pain yet.”
Reeves said economic hardship also can lead to disaster. He hopes to reopen the economy soon. He said shelter-in-place and other moratoriums will be eased gradually over the next few weeks to a month.
Reeves said the state has lost 100,000 jobs in the last three weeks and the number will increase when new unemployment figures are released Thursday.
Reeves also noted the 122 COVID-19 deaths in Mississippi as of Tuesday evening, with a total of 3,360 cases reported.
The programs he announced are designed to prevent homeowners from losing their houses due to unemployment during the pandemic and provide child-care to essential workers, including first-responders, medical personnel, sanitation workers and employees providing food.
▪ The Homesaver program will provide varying amounts of assistance, from a one-time mortgage payment to more assistance for qualified applicants looking for work. Residents can apply on the Mississippi Homesaver website.
▪ The Mississippi Home Corporation, which is overseeing the program, has at least $10 million available.
▪ The state is looking for partner churches, businesses, nonprofit agencies and individuals who can be trained to follow guidelines for operating emergency childcare centers as public school closures have been extended through the end of this school year.
▪ The centers will meet the same needs as typical childcare centers, with about 60% of the state’s 1,500 traditional centers closed during the pandemic, officials said. Information is available on this Mississippi Department of Human Services website.
▪ Those unable to afford childcare will be apply to apply for assistance in another week, Reeves said.
▪ The Mississippi State Department of Health is partnering with MDHS on the program, called the Childcare Crisis Assistance in Isolation Response Plan.
