As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we in Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s office plan to keep you updated with the latest information that might be useful for your network of neighborhoods, Homeowners Associations, and online groups. As a trusted leader in your area, we ask you to please share the following message with your NextDoor page/neighborhood message board/Facebook group/email distribution list:

It’s no secret: lots of us are struggling to keep our lives together during this difficult time. Our friends and family are being laid off from their jobs, and for many of these folks, applying for unemployment has been nothing less than a nightmare.

This situation is not any easier for our neighborhood small business owners. These job creators want nothing less than to be able to keep their people working. It keeps them sleepless at night, knowing that the difficult decisions they make could wind up hurting valued employees and their families. Meanwhile, the Federal SBA loan program has been slow to get up and running, and time is quickly running out for businesses to be able to stay afloat. However, thanks to the hard work of Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, some help is coming soon….

Commissioner Garcia was the brainchild of a $10 million, 0% interest/forgivable loan fund for Harris Co. small businesses. It was approved by Commissioners Court earlier this week, and successful applicants will receive a crucial cash lifeline (a max of $25,000 per business to keep paying employees’ salaries and benefits) in a matter of weeks.

If you or someone you know is interested in applying for a loan from this program, please visit www.harriscountyloan.com to submit an application. Don’t waste any time, however. Availability is expected to be extremely limited, and demand will be extremely high. The website application is active now.   PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED.

While you’re here getting this important and helpful information to be shared with your network, please also consider suggesting to your people that they should sign up for the Precinct 2 newsletter. We’d also love it if you share the content produced there widely. Recent editions have included information about financial relief that is available to help folks get through this tough time, information about free food programs, and free online learning tools for kids/parents stuck at home. To sign up for the newsletter, please visit: https://www.hcp2.com/news/press-room or call the Precinct 2 hotline at (713) 274-2222 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. It’s vitally important that you share this information to the folks living in each and every neighborhood in Precinct 2 and across Harris County.