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We're still on a mission to understand how communities responded to the wide-reaching impacts of the pandemic.
You may remember when we took a look at six communities across the country to find out who got what in pandemic relief money and how it impacted them. Our work revealed data gaps and data reliability issues - but we didn't stop there.
Following up on phase one of this project, our latest report tells the stories and pandemic relief experiences of two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations that received a combined $2.65 billion in federal
funding. We met with local community leaders and officials to understand how federal policymakers and program managers can improve
emergency preparedness, now and in the future. Stay tuned on our
website and social media for reports and highlights from each of the six communities we visited.
 What we know:
The communities shared similar experiences with pandemic funding and programs, even though their populations, demographics, and locations are unique. Here are four key insights that community leaders and local officials shared:
- While communities appreciated pandemic relief funding, new
and changing program guidance or reporting requirements led
to difficulty navigating the federal programs.
- Local leaders’ knowledge of their community, coupled with their ability to build and maintain trust, was key to successful pandemic response efforts.
- Rural counties and Tribal reservations may have experienced
more difficulty responding to COVID-19 because they also had
to address pre-existing challenges — such as staffing and
internet limitations — that remained, or were even amplified,
during the pandemic.
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In addition to the serious health-related impacts of COVID-19, community leaders needed to address challenges such as food insecurity, maintaining public safety, and supporting small
businesses — many of which lingered more than two years into
the pandemic.
Why it matters:
We hope these insights and lessons learned will help federal policymakers and program managers improve future emergency responses.
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