Since the beginning of the pandemic, persistently poor, rural areas have been disproportionally affected by the extended time taken by states to distribute funding for homeowners and renters in need. Homeowners and renters alike face homelessness and displacement without the certainty of funds to secure their housing – funds provided by Congress. Unfortunately, in many areas of the country with significant population living in rural areas, states have been slow to react to this crisis. Black, Latinx, Native and low-income communities remain particularly at risk of eviction and foreclosure.
This blatant disregard for the lives of communities of color is nothing new, and is veritably intentional. Led by a vision of a nation where persistent poverty no longer exists, the Partners for Rural Transformation call upon state governments to
1. Collaborate with local nonprofits to help spread the word in local rural communities
2. Serve as a referrer and/or complete applications for their constituents
3. Eliminate unnecessary protocol and paperwork required for residents to receive funding, per the federal government’s urging.
Implementing these recommendations will eliminate their structural biases and restrictions, deconstruct complicated and exploitative pathways to securing housing funds, and actively disperse funds to the rural families and individuals for whom the resources were intended.