Four months after the CARES Act was passed, less than one-third (29 percent) of the $4 billion Congress allocated for homeless programs has actually made its way to local communities.

In Holmes County, Mississippi, the COVID-19 infection rate is more than three times the national average. “We were already off the cliff with no safety net,” said the Holmes County supervisor. “Then COVID came.”

It’s a common misconception that homeless people are unemployed, but between 25% to 50% of this population works, according to experts. In the era of COVID-19, that means many homeless employees are working low-wage essential jobs under conditions that put them at risk of catching or spreading the virus.

Homeless people across the U.S. talk about their struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Audio has been edited for length and clarity.

More than 200 homeless people are known to have died so far in the COVID-19 pandemic, yet they remain largely invisible victims. Across the U.S., communities have struggled to protect their homeless residents.

The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism developed a vulnerability index to understand which counties' homeless populations might struggle the most in the COVID-19 outbreak.