For Immediate Release
Latino Community Foundation Leads a Coalition of Latino-Led Grassroot Nonprofits Urging U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Provide Greater Emergency Rental Assistance Funds to the State of California
With an overwhelming need to access rental assistance to cover back rent, the demand for rental assistance by California tenants impacted by COVID-19 stands at $7 billion, far exceeding California’s $5.2 Billion in state and federal allocations.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 7, 2022 – Today, the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) and thirteen Latino-led grassroot organizations across California sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to request unused Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Funds to meet the state’s significant demand for rental assistance.
Prior to the pandemic, 46% of California Latino renters, who make up more than half of all renters in the state, were considered rent burdened (defined by spending more than 30% of monthly income on housing costs). With the onset of COVID-19, more than 700,000 Californians are behind on rent, an overwhelming majority who are low-income, people of color.
The ERA Program, supported through the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, was intended to help Americans tackle rental debt, evictions, and housing insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While uptake of the program has increased, there remain unused funds available for reallocation to high-need states.
In the letter to Secretary Yellen, LCF and its partners write:
“Because of the pandemic, we have seen an overwhelming need to access rental assistance to cover back rent, yet a severely insufficient supply of resources. Concerns over eviction and displacement have become the primary concern for millions of Latino families and has profoundly affected their mental and economic health.”
In addition to LCF, the list of organizations that signed the letter includes: On the Move (Napa), Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (Salinas), Centro Legal de la Raza (Oakland), The Unity Council (Oakland), La Luz Center (Sonoma), Mixteco/Indiìgena Community Organizing Project (Oxnard), Campesinos Unidos, Inc. (Brawley), UpValley Family Centers (Napa), Comiteì Ciìvico del Valle, Inc. (Brawley), Alianza (Coachella), Centro La Familia Advocacy Services (Fresno), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (Los Angeles), and Nuestra Casa (East Palo Alto).
Full text of the letter is available here.
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About Latino Community Foundation:
The Latino Community Foundation is on a mission to unleash the civic and economic power of Latinos in California. LCF has the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country and has invested $19 million to build Latino civic and political power and leadership in the state. It is the only statewide foundation solely focused on investing in Latino youth and families in California. For more info, please visit: www.latinocf.org
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Media Contacts:
Ricardo Jara
Senior Communications Director, Latino Community Foundation
(323) 559-0802 / rjara@latinocf.org
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