In Texas, Foundation Communities, a NeighborWorks organization, is working hard to keep residents housed with the help of an emergency fund. So far, they've helped more than 700 residents with rental assistance. A grant from NeighborWorks America, in partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation, made a difference.
While people have been hurt across the country due to economic fallout from COVID-19, people with lower-wage jobs were typically the ones who were hit the hardest, says Donna Williams, director of Individual Giving and Engagement at Foundation Communities. The organization serves people who are already struggling to make ends meet. "That's why they are looking for affordable housing," Williams says, "and the pandemic was especially hard on them."
Many Foundation Communities residents work in the service industry, Williams says. "Retail, restaurants, hairdressers, babysitters. Hotel cleaners. Even healthcare workers and medical techs. There are many people who live at Foundation Communities who found themselves with even less income than they had in the first place. We realized people were not going to be able to meet rent, even reduced rent."
One of those people was Cedric, who lives in Live Oak Trails apartments. An airline worker who is contracted to supervise plane-cleaning between flights for Delta, he saw his workload go from 30 flights a day to only five, as the nation sheltered in place and as air travel, for a time, dwindled to almost nothing.
"We're contractors, so the more flights that come in, the more we're paid," says Cedric. The fewer flights? That left Cedric and his family -- his wife and a year-old son -- in a financial pinch. He worried about bills, including rent. He worried about being kicked out of his apartment. "What am I going to do to take care of my family?" he asked.
In spring, Foundation Communities, which serves 7,000 residents through 25 communities, most of them in the Austin area, covered Cedric's rent through their Emergency Assistance fund, which includes a $171,000 Rental Resilience grant from NeighborWorks, in partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation. The fund has provided rental assistance since the pandemic began and has so far helped more than 700 people. "When I got the call … that my rent has been paid, I was so thankful," Cedric says. "There are great people in this world that want to help out, that want to help their neighbor out during his tough time."
Units in Foundation Communities' portfolio range from one to three bedrooms and include efficiencies for individuals who may need more assistance, like recently homeless individuals or teens who have been released from foster care. All the communities have wrap-around services.
Williams says hundreds have found themselves unable to pay rent at different times during the pandemic, the first in April, just after COVID-19 reached Texas.
"Many are very worried as they try and support their families, as they look to see whether their jobs will reopen, whether there will be more hours to work," Williams says. "How are they going to make ends meet? How are they going to pay rent? How are they going to buy groceries? The whole economy has been affected but people in the service industry have felt it the most."
As the holidays approach, families worry even more, she says. "When parents are struggling to get food on the table, they have the additional worry about explaining to children that the holidays may not look the same."
In addition to their Emergency Assistance Fund, Foundation Communities has rolled out a Holiday Assistance Program to help families navigate the season. They're seeking donations to help families have a holiday meal and gifts for their children, and they're also planning to provide families with basic groceries "so the holidays will be brighter."
Eighty percent of Foundation Communities' budget comes from rents, so when people can't pay, it affects operations. Williams says the Rental Resilience grant "has been a huge windfall so that we can continue to resist our very resilient residents who are working hard to make ends meet. Without help from NeighborWorks and Wells Fargo and our other very generous donors, this would not have been possible. We needed help in our order to help our residents. We were so grateful to have that so we could continue to help our neighbors. It's made a huge difference."
Like other NeighborWorks organizations, Williams says they are looking ahead to the new year – and to helping more people. "We have enough in our fund to continue moving forward," she says. "Austin is a great city for helping people. We have no idea how long this is going to last. We take it month by month. But we are going to be able to continue to help people because of the generosity of folks like [NeighborWorks]."
Says Cedric, "There are people out in the world that are helping other people. It's such a blessing. I'm so thankful."
The Rental Resilience Fund has dispersed more than $10.2 million to approximately 170 network organizations, with each receiving between $5,000 and $400,000 depending on the size of their rental portfolio. As the economic downturn began, the Wells Fargo Foundation responded, as part of its philanthropic efforts to keep 100,000 people housed, with support. In addition to the Rental Resilience fund, NeighborWorks America provided $2.5 million in grants through a Critical Relief Fund.
Further reading: A grant from NeighborWorks, in partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation, helps a NeighborWorks organization in California.
Cedric talks about the help he received in this video from Foundation Communities.
11/25/2020
