"Forty-one percent of Hispanic Americans say their current household income is lower than it was at the start of the pandemic, compared with 29% of Black Americans and 25% of white Americans. And about 4 in 10 Black and Hispanic Americans have been unable to pay a bill in the last month, compared with about 2 in 10 white Americans. For people of color, the trauma experienced due to economic turmoil has been compounded by immense personal losses" (One-third of the BIPOC population in the U.S. has admitted to knowing someone close who has died from COVID). 

                                                                                  ~~ AP-NORC poll

RCF Connects is on the front lines of understanding the pain and struggle that this pandemic has caused our community.  In particular, BIPOC communities of Contra Costa County have been deeply impacted by COVID-19, and we are still experiencing the ongoing health and economic impacts that will have far-reaching effects on these communities for generations.

This crisis has amplified inequities and the failing of nearly every safety net system from economic opportunity to healthcare to social justice to basic needs. Within this crisis, we were forced to re-imagine new ways of doing things that would not just help our communities recover, but develop more equitable and sustainable methods, processes, and systems than we ever thought possible.

We, at RCF Connects, have committed to studying, recognizing, and most importantly righting the historical and current impacts of deeply racist policies, practices, and systems that have left our neighbors unprotected, swimming in a pool of inequity, and forced into a pipeline of poverty.

As you will witness in this newsletter, every activity that RCF Connects and our various initiatives: Ensuring Opportunity, Healthy Richmond, SparkPoint Contra Costa, Mobility LABs, and the Richmond Housing Renovation Program, are involved in, endeavors to reverse the prevailing racist patterns and practices that created this undesired situation.

We hope that you continue to support RCF Connects in righting the wrongs that have left such a large part of our population -- our neighbors -- vulnerable. We hope that you continue to be part of the solution in helping build communities that thrive!

Learn how RCF Connects re-imagines the world in the video, We are RCF Connects.

Ensuring Opportunity has an urgent update on the end the state's and county's eviction moratoria, and what this policy change means for local families. 

Don't panic, you can still apply after September 30th. Visit Housing is Key or call 833-430-2122.  We list all the places you can call for free help with your application. Simply click on the flyers below to download the information.

The bad news is that these important eviction prohibitions are ending. The good news is that there are still lots of ways for local residents to get the support they need, including rental assistance and free legal services. Please see the attached one-pager that explains clearly what tenants can do and where they can turn to for help. 

Note that residents are urged to apply for the state's Emergency Rental Assistance Program as soon as possible to get the strongest protections. But even after that point, folks are encouraged to apply for rental assistance as soon as possible, to get their fair share of assistance before the funds run out. Tenants who have been served with an eviction notice are strongly encouraged to contact legal services for advice and support (see flyer for details).

Learn more about ERAP (Emergency Rental Assistance Program) by contacting Ensuring Opportunity's Policy, Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, Héctor Malvido at hmalvido@richmondcf.org

Shelter and clean water are essential to a comfortable life. Besides shelter, the next biggest concern for folks in our community surviving this pandemic is food and water. RCF has focused on resources and tools that assist residents with access to essentials such as water. 

The good news statewide is that Governor Newsom signed a new law extending water shut-off protections to all water systems regardless of funding source and extended the COVID shut-off moratorium to December 31, 2021.  To learn more about this new law and how it could possibly affect you and our neighbors, check out SB155.

This is an extension of the July 11th decision when lawmakers revealed a plan to use one-time federal relief money to address utility debt. The deal is a patchwork of new programs to forgive $2 billion of utility debt due to hardships experienced by our neighbors during the pandemic. Many people don’t know that they are still protected from utility shutoffs and it is important that we inform our neighbors of the assistance and resources available to them.

On a local municipal level, RCF Connects and SparkPoint Contra Costa are partnering with EBMUD on the Water Lifeline program to support EBMUD customers in Contra Costa County who are facing an emergency (due to the effects of COVID-19 and the recent economic shut-down) that affects their ability to pay their bills.

Join the Water Lifeline Donation Program which accepts donations to help our neighbors. Your donation helps RCF Connects and SparkPoint CC identify individuals and families in need of assistance. Your generous support will positively impact the lives of your neighbors.

Water is life. Please, consider making a donation.

Learn more about the Water Lifeline Donation Program by contacting SparkPoint Contra Costa, Betty Geishirt Cantrell, Senior Director at bgeishirtcantrell@richmondcf.org

With the understanding that the pandemic has exacerbated inequality, SparkPoint Contra Costa has taken on the new mission to help our community recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic.

SparkPoint Contra Costa is continuing to offer its fantastic Financial and Career Workshops. The first ones were such a success that you will not want to miss the next workshops in the series.

So much is happening in October at SparkPoint Contra Costa!

Click on the image below and download the flyer. Please share with anyone who may be interested in learning how to recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic. 

October Flyer (PDF) - October Flyer (JPEG)

To learn more about SparkPoint Contra Costa visit our info page. For inquiries please contact Betty Geishirt Cantrell, Senior Director at bgeishirtcantrell@richmondcf.org

We met our donation goal! 
Help us reach our new goal in order to help more first-time homebuyers

For most Americans, a home is their major source of wealth. A home appreciates over time and can be passed down to the next generation. But because of segregation, redlining, adverse (or nonexistent) mortgage terms, and loan application rejection, the Black community has been shut out from this major wealth-building tool.

The Black Wealth Builder's Fund is a project launched by Arlington Community Church (UCC), in partnership with RCF Connects, to help repair a small portion of the financial damage of racism and white supremacist policies—in particular, the longstanding barriers to Black homeownership that have existed in our East Bay communities.

How does the fund assist potential Black homeowners?

A major barrier to homeownership, especially in the high-priced Bay Area, is the lack of a down payment. This is especially true for Black homebuyers, who may have good incomes but no access to the additional capital they need for a down payment.

We will:

• Create a zero-percent-interest loan fund, to be paid back only when the home is refinanced or sold;

• Work with Black-serving local organizations to identify potential Black homebuyers who are on the journey to homeownership but who lack sufficient down payment.

We are very happy that we reached our first goal and, we would like to continue growing this fund to help many more potential homeowners acquire homes in the Bay Area and grow their wealth. Would you like to help? Donate to the Black Wealth Builder's Fund.

For further assistance or specific information on a wire transfer, stock donation, or any other bequest, please contact Jim Becker at jbecker@richmondcf.org or 510-234-1200.

If you have inquires about the Black Wealth Builder's Fund contact Jim Becker, CEO at jbecker@richmondcf.org.

On August 26th, Jeff Scott, Director for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division joined us to tour a former brownfield lot in the Iron Triangle.  Previously a vacant lot, it was redeveloped under the Richmond Housing Renovation Program and the EPA Brownfield grants to create a live/work space for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers in the Bay Area.

We gathered all the folks that made this successful build possible and invited them to walk through the new home.  Watch a video of the walk through here, or click on the group photo above.

We'd like to acknowledge guests who attended, Cynthia LeBlanc, RCF Board Chair;
Gloria Scoggins, RHR Board member; Lena Robinson, First Republic Bank; Rauly Butler, Mechanics Bank; Jeff Scott, EPA; Nova Blazej, EPA; Tim Minezaki, Energy Solutions; Sam Irvine, ZNE Alliance; John Gioia, County Supervisor; David Lindsay, Common Ground; and contractors Troy Coleman & Ed Harrington.

The Richmond Housing Renovation Program intends to develop more blighted properties and brownfield lots into affordable homes that restore neighborhoods and help our community thrive.  

Are you a first-time homebuyer, interested in being part of this program?

Learn more about how first-time homebuyers can buy a home through Richmond Housing Renovation Program by connecting with SparkPoint CC and signing up for SparkPoint's Weekly Virtual Welcome Group.  They will help you register for the First Time Home Buyer's Orientation held every 2nd Wednesday of the month.

Learn more about the Richmond Housing Renovation Program and submit inquiries to Jim Becker, CEO @ jbecker@richmondcf.org

(From Left to Right: Jim Becker, Tamara Shiloh, Barry Goode, Cynthia LeBlanc)

RCF’s CEO Jim Becker, Board Chair Cynthia LeBlanc and Fund Advisor Barry Goode, presented a grant of $13,500 from the Erica Cares Fund to Tamara Shiloh, Executive Director of Just Imagine KIDZ, to support the training, curriculum and materials for every teacher at Nystrom Elementary so that they can teach Black history all year as part of regular lessons.

The Erica Cares Fund is a component fund of RCF Connects established by the Goode Family in memory of former board member Erica Goode, to support programs and services for children in Richmond.

Learn more about The Erica Cares Fund  and donate to help us continue to make a difference in the educational opportunities for our children in Richmond.

Learn all the ways that Healthy Richmond makes a difference in our community by visiting their website. Direct inquiries to Erica Yanez, Health Advocate Coordinator  hr-intern@richmondcf.org

Noemi Mora, Administrative Assistant SparkPoint Contra Costa East (No Photo)

Our new RCF Connects team-mate, Noemi Mora, has over 20 years of customer service and administrative experience. Originally from South San Francisco, she and her family moved to Bay Point in 2018. She and her husband share a 15 year marriage and are parents to 2 boys, 14 and 12 years old. In her spare time, she likes baking and decorating sweet treats. She told us, "I like working with people and helping them in the best way possible. I believe that a little bit of kindness can go a long way."

Is you would like to join RCF Connects' team, visit  our job opening webpage, or contact Bill Brown, Sr. Director of Human Resources at bbrown@richmondcf.org

Mobility Labs, as a part of Together Towards Health, a community-led effort to assist our most vulnerable communities in East Contra Costa County in getting vaccinated to fight against COVID-19, asks that you fight for your loved ones.

They made the fight easy, simple, and fast so that everyone can receive the vaccine.  Now, you can call and make an appointment at any time and choose the brand of vaccine you want.  Want to know how?

Download

Information Flyer (English) - Folleto informativo (español)

Be a neighborhood hero and offer to help folks around you get the care they need. Request an appointment for you and your loved one to receive a safe, effective, no-cost COVID-19 vaccine, it is now very easy. 

If you have questions about Mobility LABs and their work in East Contra Costa community, submit inquires to Kacey Carterelliott, Manager at kcarterelliott@richmondcf.org

If you have questions about RCF Connects' End of Year Campaign submit inquires to Melissa Ferrer, Development Manager at mferrer@richmondcf.org