Since March, Alliance Housing has been able to forgive $1 for every $1 of rent paid by tenants who have lost hours or employment due to COVID or the unrest following the death of George Floyd. The idea of the fund came from Alliance’s staff, who knew that low-wage working adults already had very little margin for recovering from financial setbacks. Getting behind on a month of rent made it nearly impossible to ever catch up. Even though many of our tenants often work multiple part-time jobs, they simply earn too little money to cover basic life obligations.
Alliance was able to take advantage of special COVID and emergency funding opportunities offered by The Constellation Fund, Otto Bremer Trust, and the Minneapolis Foundation’s OneMpls Fund. Individual donors and St. Joan of Arc Partners Program also donated to the cause, providing Alliance Housing just under $30,000 to match tenant rent payments.
We’ve also been given a $30,000 matching funds opportunity by the FS Foundation to increase the rent forgiveness fund and expand it to our larger apartment buildings. The FS Foundation is on a mission to foster independence, self-reliance, pride of craftsmanship, and sense of purpose for under-resourced adults. This matching grant will double your donation to the Alliance Housing Rent Forgiveness Fund and will be a huge relief for tenants who are already living with a lot of stress during these uncertain times.
So far, we’ve assisted 25 households with $17,400 dollars, an average of $695 each ($115 per month). Some tenants have
received multiple matches who are paying smaller amounts over time. As you know, Alliance Housing has always given its
tenants extra time and flexibility in getting caught up with rent during a financial setback.
Felicia and her family have been living in an Alliance duplex since June 2019. Her full-time job at a daycare center is right down the street. When the pandemic brought us lay-offs and stay-at-home orders, her work hours became very sporadic. Recently she’s been getting only 20 to 30 hours per week. Felicia has had the opportunity to get shifts at other daycare franchise locations, but that requires reliable transportation, which until now, she hasn’t needed. Matches for what she can pay makes her feel like she is pulling her own weight despite the reduced hours.
Thomas works at McDonalds. He feels fortunate to still be working at the take-out window. He pays $380 per month for his room. At $12.50 per hour he was able to make ends meet working 30 hours per week. Since the pandemic, his hours have been cut to 10 per week so he now only makes about $500 per month, making paying his rent a heavy lift. He is grateful for the hand up and sleeps better at night with no worries of losing his home.
If you wish to participate in the Rent Forgiveness Fund in collaboration with our generous funders and individual donors, you will be helping hard working people like Thomas and Felicia, keeping them safe in their homes, so they can keep working through these difficult times. Donate using the enclosed envelope or click the “Donate” button on our webpage:
www.alliancehousinginc.org.
