WASHINGTON – Earlier today, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo hosted a roundtable discussion with leading Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program grantees who provide vital assistance to households across the country that are unable to pay rent or utilities. The Deputy Secretary highlighted the Biden Administration’s all-hands-on-deck effort to prevent evictions by taking actions across federal agencies to help renters. This effort includes Treasury’s swift distribution of ERA funding to state and local governments to provide them with the tools and flexibility to prevent evictions, as well as Treasury’s recent changes to the ERA program to offer assistance directly to tenants, streamline documentation requirements, promote cultural competency in programs, and ensure that funds can assist individuals experiencing homelessness.
The Deputy Secretary sought insight from the grantees on their experience on the ground with the ERA program, including best practices that can be applied by other ERA recipients across the country and lessons learned from administering their programs so far. For example, grantees shared how ERA funding has empowered them to collaborate with nonprofits to help the most vulnerable populations access support, fulfill technology and staffing needs to provide critical services, and invest in lasting support infrastructure to prevent evictions and serve vulnerable renters.
A list of grantees that participated in the roundtable is below.
State of Alaska
State of Maine
State of Virginia
City of Houston, Texas
City of Louisville, Kentucky
City of San Antonio, Texas
Harris County, Texas
Summit County, Ohio