A coalition of Houston-Galveston area nonprofits and foundations have launched a community impact survey to assess and respond to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.

The effort is led by Harvey Home Connect, a disaster response and preparedness nonprofit founded in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to connect vulnerable communities to resources.

“Houston is used to rallying around our neighbors during times of adversity,” said Elena White, Executive Director for Harvey Home Connect. “Through previous disasters, we’ve learned how critical it is to start identifying affected community members while the rains are still falling, so that we can advocate for necessary resources and, as they become available, we can direct people to those resources. This survey will help us do that.”

In a statement, Fort Bend County Judge KP George said, “We must make decisions based on science and data, not fear. That’s why I fully support the measure-utilizing Harvey Home Connect survey to enable nonprofits and other organizations to better understand the real economic and social needs of households affected by this pandemic. In a time of scarce resources, we must ensure that the solutions we propose are in fact what is truly needed."

Taking this data-driven approach will allow philanthropic and nonprofit partners to better understand and focus on the needs of vulnerable community members who are hit the hardest during any disaster, as well as populations who are specifically hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the elderly, families with children, service industry workers, and undocumented and mixed status families.

"The city is working with regional and federal partners to provide testing and to blunt progression of the coronavirus. But it will be a while before we fully realize the extent of the economic, social, and health impacts caused by COVID-19," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "That is why I am deeply grateful for Harvey Home Connect and other local nonprofit organizations that directly work with our vulnerable communities."

The survey can be found at https://www.gulfcoastcovidsurvey.org/. It takes about 15 minutes to complete and will provide valuable information to help with the needs of our communities.

To get more information about Harvey Home Connect, you can visit their website at http://www.harveyhomeconnect.org/en/.