Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This is a special notice to share information that may be of value to our sector.
The arts and culture sector was hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with high unemployment rates for artists and members of the creative industries. Many in our sector are experiencing housing insecurity and challenges with mortgages or paying the rent. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has and will continue to work to get information out to the creative community to assist in their effort to recover and rebuild.
President Biden is committed to assisting homeowners and renters and preventing a wave of evictions once the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium expires on August 1st. American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding of $21.6 billion in emergency rental and mortgage assistance is available through state and local programs.
The NEA wants to ensure that artists and arts organizations are aware of the existing resources through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, and how they can best be used to keep people in their homes. We believe this could provide real aid to members of the arts and creative industries during this very challenging time.
Arts practitioners and artists who have been experiencing housing instability, or are having trouble making rent or mortgage payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic should know that they are not alone. Federal, state, and local governments are offering help with housing expenses and avoiding eviction. Information is available at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s mortgage and housing assistance site on available resources.
Arts organizations and agencies who would like to distribute this information to their lists can visit this link for a toolkit of sample emails and resources, provided by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
Thank you.
