Economic Resilience
Our Approach
While the specific tactics used to implement our response will be adjusted as necessary, we are currently pursuing a two-phased approach as follows:
Phase 1: Personal Resilience and Relief
People come first. Many workers are already experiencing economic hardships, from reduced hours and wages to loss of employment. Others fear not going into work will result in lost income and the ability to pay for essential needs like rent and food.
Yet, medical experts and every level of government make it clear the best way to combat this disease is for people to shelter in place and remove themselves from excessive social contact. The immediate goal is to flatten the curve* so we don’t overwhelm hospital capacity and exacerbate the spread of the virus. This means people need to feel more comfortable and secure staying home from work.
Given the national scope of this event, we anticipate it may be some time before any federal stimulus package or other form government relief can be delivered to help locally. As a result, our immediate focus is connecting impacted or displaced workers to existing resources and other stop-gap measures that can help people bridge budget challenges over the next several months. Please see the Resources for Impacted Workers for potential sources of relief or support.
Phase 2: Business Recovery and Renewal
Longer-term, we are working to develop support and response systems for impacted businesses and employers. The level of fiscal investment for this endeavor is expected to be enormous. Because local resources are limited, we will need to rely on stimulus packages at the State and Federal level. We believe that we can best accomplish a full recovery by coordinating efforts, pooling of resources and presenting a shared voice with respect to State and Federal government response request.
The Washington State Department of Commerce has designated funds from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the Strategic Reserve Fund (SRF) for to get business recovery efforts up and running and we will work with partners to assemble local and regional taskforces to help identify and direct future resources to impacted businesses.
For an inventory of existing resources, please visit the Resources for Businesses and Employers section. Additional information and resources will be added as they are brought online.
Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to "flatten the curve" (Harry Stevens, The Washington Post)
