Our society has been built upon inequities that touch almost every aspect of our lives, including housing. In addition, housing stability and public health are interconnected and interdependent; the lack of housing stability correlates with poor individual and community health.

While rent stabilization and eviction protection laws work to stabilize housing for the 50% of Richmond residents who are renters, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need to provide additional stability for renters in Richmond.  An emergency rent assistance program is an important tool to strengthen housing stability and prevent displacement.

Here is what is happening in Richmond:

 🔘 Richmond renters are among the most vulnerable to eviction, increasing the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19.

 🔘 Richmond landlords, a high percentage of whom are “mom and pop” owners, are facing financial ruin if their tenants cannot pay rent.

 🔘 Richmond renters and landlords need an effective tool for stabilizing housing and reducing evictions and displacement related to COVID-19.

 🔘  Existing rental assistance programs are insufficient to meet the anticipated COVID-19 wave of eviction threats.

RCF Connects, in partnership with the Richmond Rapid Response Fund, the City of Richmond, the Richmond Rent Program, Community Housing Development Corporation, Neighborhood Housing Services and SparkPoint Contra Costa, have established an emergency rental assistance fund to address these issues.

“The rental assistance program would help me from living in the streets. It would help me stay above water as I am living with my sister who is helping me from living in the streets. Even though she has her own children to take care of, she has helped me stay sheltered as I look for employment during this time to help me get on my feet once again." 
- Aurora W.

The goal of the rental assistance fund is to Support 1,000 Richmond households with rent assistance of up to $5,000 per household based on a median monthly rent of $2,200.  Renters who complete additional financial literacy classes could be eligible for up to an additional $5,000.

To date, RCF Connects and its partners distributed $275,000 in rental assistance funds to Richmond tenants and landlords.  However, the need is great. Within the few months this program was established, applicants are already experiencing a waiting list and the team is working diligently to raise an additional $5 million to support future rental assistance needs in Richmond, CA.

Be a part of the solution, DONATE today and ensure that our neighborhoods stay strong. For more details, visit http://www.richmondrapidresponse.org. 

Need rental assistance? Download this application and follow directions to apply.  You will be placed on the waiting list and contacted when funds are available.

But we can't stop there. 

RCF Connects through its initiative, Ensuring Opportunity, the Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa County, is supporting a number of new developments in eviction moratoriums on the state and county level. 

Under Contra Costa County's Moratorium Rules:

🔘 Just this month, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors extended their moratorium on "No Fault Evictions and Rent Increases" to June 30, 2021 (from Jan. 31).  Under this agreement:

🔘 Rent increases cannot exceed 10%. A maximum of 2 rent increases, the total of which are within the 10% cap, are allowed over a 12-month period.

🔘 If a unit is vacant, the landlord can increase the rent beyond the 10% cap (which may create a problematic incentive to evict).

🔘 Through March 31, 2021, a landlord may not charge or collect a late fee for unpaid rent due from a commercial real property tenant who demonstrated loss of income or out-of pocket medical expenses as required under this ordinance.

Under the "Moratorium on Evictions," Contra Costa residents can’t be evicted: 

🔘  For having “unauthorized tenants” dwelling in the property if they are immediate family members of the tenant; 

🔘  For lack of payment of rent (if proper documentation is submitted per SB 91); and

🔘  For a “no fault” reason.
 

IMPORTANT, Please note, evictions are still allowed in Contra Costa County for three reasons:

🔘 Public health hazard: The termination is necessary to protect the landlord’s health or safety or any other tenant’s health or safety.

🔘 Owner move-in: The termination is necessary where the owner or a member of the landlord’s immediate family intends to occupy the residential real property.

🔘 Removing rental property from the market: The termination is to remove the residential real property from the rental market, but only when authorized by Government Code section 7060 et seq.

Under California State Rules:

On January 29, 2021, the California State Senate Bill 91 (SB 91) was passed, extending many of the same protections that were present under the previous eviction moratorium, AB 3088. Under this new bill:

🔘 The 25% Payment Requirement is extended. This new law still requires tenants to pay 25% of total rent owed between September 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 to their landlord by June 30, 2021 (this date was extended from the original Jan. 31, 2021 deadline). This rule will protect tenants from eviction due to lack of payment of rent. 

🔘 Tenants cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent that became due between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020, if renters return a declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress to their landlord. The landlord is required to provide tenants with this form, and tenants have 15 days to return it.

🔘 Pay-or-quit or Eviction notices must still allow a minimum of 15 days (in pre-pandemic times it was 3 days). If the tenant receives an eviction notice or the landlord threatens eviction, we strongly recommend tenants seek legal help. (contact Bay Area Legal Aid)

Tenants cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent that became due between September 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, if the tenant returns a declaration of COVID-19-related financial distress to their landlord and pay 25 percent of rent due during that period by June 30, 2021. However, tenants must provide a separate declaration for every month that they cannot pay due to the effects of COVID-19. 

The good news is, California State is soon to provide rent relief.  A large-scale Rental Assistance program is in the process of being rolled out statewide that will distribute state and federal rental assistance funds. It will provide tenants and landlords with a couple of options:

Option 1 - 80/20 Deal: Landlords will have the option to apply and receive up to 80% of a tenant’s unpaid rent from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. If they accept these funds, they must forgive the tenant’s remaining 20% unpaid rent.

Option 2 - Tenant Relief: If a landlord does not want to participate in Option 1, the tenant can apply for relief but will only receive 25% of their unpaid rent (to aid them in reaching the 25% payment threshold in order to remain housed). 

It is clear, we have a lot more work to do to ensure our neighbors are housed, secure, and protected during this time of crisis. We invite you to be part of the solution.  

Bay Area Tenants Rise Up: Stop Evictions & Save Lives
March 1, 2021 @ 6pm via ZOOM

Contra Costa has the second-highest number of evictions during a pandemic. Join tenants and organizers in a series of trainings and actions to stop evictions in the Bay Area.
Register here: (Spanish interpretation provided through ZOOM)

If you or your neighbor are in need of Tenant Legal Services:

Monument Impact/EBASE - Tenant Legal Clinics (Eng/Spanish)
1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6-8pm
Learn and assert your rights as a tenant 
Click here for information on how to attend (Registration is required) 

(Tenant Legal Services) Bay Area Legal Aid (BALA): 
free civil legal advice, counsel, and representation - Call (510) 250-5270 x925 Mon & Thurs from 9:30am-3:00pm, and Tues & Wed from 9:30am until 1:00pm

(Tenant Legal Services) La Clínica de La Raza:
Text at (510) 738-3906 or email at tenantsrights@centrolegal.org

For more information on county and state based eviction moratoriums contact Ensuring Opportunity's Policy, Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, Hector Malvido at hmalvido@richmondcf.org

The Mobility LABs team argues that we should change these assumptions. They believe that moving folks out of poverty does not mean moving out of the neighborhood, giving up on the community, or leaving the people that we love and cherish. Instead, we should transfer that same success to the community.

With the focus on developing leadership within the community through their "At the Table: Community Voices Amplified" events, the goal is to help folks that live in "the Sycamore" to accomplish four things: (1) Understand their power, (2) Develop strategies to use their power to strengthen their community (3) Gain the tools they need to participate effectively in arenas of power (city council, school district meetings and other community forums) and (4) Lead their community into a better future.

Mobility LABs plans to provide leadership coaching twice a month to approximately 25 adults and youth to prepare them to accomplish the four steps outlined above. They are hosting a series of events entitled "Community Voices Amplified" featuring community leaders eager to have conversations inviting everyday folks to contemplate taking the steps of community engagement and leadership. (Click on the image above to download the Voices at the Table flyer).

Mobility LABs Community Manager, Kacey Carterelliott said it best: "Why can't we live where we are and be considered successful?  We can!  Moving out of The Sycamore is not an indicator of success.  Being able to pay your bills, demand resources be brought into your community, and having the power to make positive change that benefit your neighbors -- that is success."  

Learn more about Mobility LABs Contra Costa by contacting Kacey Carterelliott, kcarterelliott@richmondcf.org or follow Mobility LABs on Facebook.

Many non-profit organizations talk about the difficulty of building a board that respresents the diversity in their community. Here at RCF Connects, our goal is to simply include our community on our Board.

It is very important to RCF Connects that the voices of our community are heard in the highest levels of our organization, guiding the organization in the direction most helpful to all our neighbors within Contra Costa County. 

We, at RCF Connects, seek out those involved in the grassroots efforts to create a thriving, healthy community for all.  And we celebrate our good fortune when local leaders accept our invitation to work with us! 

Welcome our newest members of RCF Connects Board of Directors:

Mitzi Perez-Caro is a fourth year teacher at Kennedy High School,  a community advocate with deep roots in Richmond, and has benefited from the Richmond Housing Renovation Program. She also serves as a member of the Healthy Richmond Schools and Neighborhood Action Team.

Gregory Medley was raised in Richmond, and in 2014, he started Bethel Community Service (BCS), an affiliate of Bethel Church in Richmond, where he is the Executive Director. BCS is a grassroots organization committed to providing young people STEM knowledge. Greg was a participant in RCF’s Community Leadership Institute and a recent participant in RCF Connect's Embodied Leadership Coaching Program.

Jennifer Z. Clauson, a long-term resident of Martinez, CA, Jenn is passionate about working to support and serve the community around her.  She holds many years of community advocacy experience with influential organizations such as Planned Parenthood of Northern CA and Martinez Education Foundation.

Welcome neighbors and thank you for electing to guide RCF Connects to the next level of healthy, thriving community.

Learn more about our Board of Directors, and let us know if you are interested in serving on RCF Connect's Board by contacting Stacey Street, COO at SStreet@richmondcf.org.

(Click the Financial Boot Camp image to download this informational flyer)

Make sure to share this opportunity with every Diablo Valley College and Contra Costa College student you know!

Learn more about SparkPoint Contra Costa's college-site financial services by contracting: Contra Costa Site Manager, Meghan Cadmus at mcadmus@contracosta.edu or Diablo Valley Site Manager, Jerry Mendoza at g.mendoza172@dvc.edu 

Healthy Richmond Senior Director, Roxanne Carrillo Garza presented at the Community-led Initiatives for Population Health Improvement Workshop for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Population Health Improvement. Click on her image above, to watch her presentation.

Through their workshops, the Roundtable on Population Improvement strives to identify and elevate work and efforts around the United States that improve health and well-being through the social determinants of health framework and a multi-sector approach.  We at RCF Connects are so proud of Roxanne and Healthy Richmond's contribution in our community and the recognition they received from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine for their groundbreaking work.

Visit and learn more about the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine here.  Enjoy the entire workshop here.

Learn more about Healthy Richmond at their website. Or contact Vy Vo, Healthy Richmond Campaign Manager at vvo@richmondcf.org

(Click on RCF Connect Logo to start the video)

We know that it's often a little challenging describing what type of organization RCF Connects is and what we do.  We are not like any other community foundation you could imagine.  We do things differently.  We imagine the world differently. So, with the help of our friends at Meets the Eye Production Studios, we made a video explaining exactly what we do and how we do it. 

We at RCF Connects realize that it's time to re-imagine what the world looks like through the lens of equity. It's time to hear the thousands of stories of amazing people in our community and amplify their voices, stand behind them and connect them with all the resources they need to enact real change.

Each Café con Leche will have 1-2 stories answering the prompt:
"Tell a real story that best reflects the need for the work you do."

The goal for this 5-part series is to elevate the voices of our community leaders. By elevating authentic narratives, we are systemically connecting community and we invite you to be part of our celebration. Listen. Learn. Ask questions. This is our time to connect!

The Series

Mobility LABS,
Friday, March 5 at 1pm-2pm

Healthy Richmond,
Tuesday, March 30 at 1pm-2pm

Ensuring Opportunity,
Wednesday, April 14 at 11am-12pm

SparkPoint Contra Costa,
Thursday, May 13 at 2pm-3pm

Richmond Housing Renovation Program,
Friday June 4 at 11am-12pm

“Storytelling is my ancestral inheritance. Storytelling is elevated chisme that serves as warnings, preservation of our history, and lessons to be learned. Storytelling is my ethical praxis of liberation.” ~ Prisca Dorcas

Learn more about the Cafe con Leche Series and register to be on the invitation list by contacting Melissa Ferrer, Development Manager at mferrer@richmondcf.org

Learn more about RCF Connects' open positions by visiting our job opening webpage, or contacting Stacey Street, COO at sstreet@richmondcf.org

For Contra Costa residents who are 65 or older, requesting an appointment to receive a safe, effective, no-cost COVID-19 vaccine is just a few clicks away. But not everyone who is eligible for immunization can navigate a web page, download an app, or locate a stray email. For many of us, signing up to get an immunization appointment can be a real challenge. Be a neighborhood hero and offer to help folks around you get the care they need.