News Archives

Resources Related to Coronavirus and the Arts in Rural America

March 31, 2020/in Coronavirus, Coronavirus In Rural America

As a key partner in the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, HAC knows the pandemic threatens community arts in rural America. Updates and resources are posted here.

Check out all of HAC’s coronavirus resource pages here.

HAC’s page on governance, planning and CARES Act information for rural nonprofits is here.

COVID-19 Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations, National Endowment for the Arts
5-Minute Survey on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Arts and Cultural Sector, Americans for the Arts
The Virus has Arts Groups Hanging by a Thread. Michael M. Kaiser has Ideas About Saving Them, Peter Marks, Washington Post, March 19, 2020
Arts Groups, Facing Their Own Virus Crisis, Get a Piece of the Stimulus, Julia Jacobs, New York Times, March 24, 2020
Message and FAQs for Applicants and Grantees from the National Endowment for the Arts

WANT TO SUGGEST AN ADDITION FOR THIS PAGE? Please email Leslie Strauss at HAC.

Third Coronavirus Relief Bill Stops Evictions, Funds HUD But Not USDA Housing

March 27, 2020/in Coronavirus, Coronavirus In Rural America

Several HUD programs receive funding boosts under the latest coronavirus relief package. USDA tenants and homeowners – along with those assisted by other federal programs – are protected from eviction, although no additional funds are provided for USDA’s rural housing programs.

Check out HAC’s coronavirus resource pages here.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748, passed the Senate on March 25 and the House on March 27. President Trump is expected to sign it. A fourth relief/stimulus measure is likely in the future, and could include additional housing provisions, but it is not clear when such a bill might be considered. The House and Senate will both go out of session after voting on the CARES Act.

Tenant Protections

The CARES Act establishes a 120-day moratorium on beginning proceedings to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent or other charges. (Tenants could still be evicted for other reasons.) Landlords also may not charge fees or penalties for nonpayment of rent during this time period. The 120-day period will start when President Trump signs the bill.

Protected tenants are those living in rental properties that receive any type of federal assistance, including USDA’s Section 515, Section 514/516 and Section 538 programs. (The bill uses different language for provisions referring to rental properties of one to four units and those with five or more units, but the protections are the same for tenants in properties of any size.)

The bill’s moratorium applies only to new evictions. It does not stop evictions that are already in process when the bill takes effect.

Many states and localities have imposed more stringent eviction moratoria. It is not clear whether those measures would supersede the CARES Act’s provisions. If a state or locality has a less stringent moratorium, the CARES Act would apply.

Rental Property Owner Protections

Owners of rental properties with five or more units and federally backed mortgages can request forbearance if they were current on mortgage payments as of February 1. An owner must contact the company or agency to which they make mortgage payments and say they are experiencing financial hardship. The mortgage company or agency must provide forbearance for 30 days. The property owner can request two additional 30-day forbearance periods.

Homeowner Protections

The CARES Act imposes a moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners with mortgages backed by any federal programs. This seems to apply to foreclosures that have already begun as well as new ones. It takes effect on March 18 and lasts for 60 days.

The bill does not provide automatic protection for homeowners who have difficulty meeting their mortgage payments, but it gives them the right to request forbearance from their mortgage lender, with an explanation that they are experiencing financial hardship because of the coronavirus crisis. The lender is required to grant forbearance for up to 180 days, with an extension of another 180 days if needed. The homeowner will still need to make the payments eventually.

These provisions apply to homeowners with mortgages made or guaranteed by USDA under Section 502, as well as to those with mortgages insured or guaranteed by HUD’s Section 184 program for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and 184A program for Native Hawaiians, FHA (including home equity conversion mortgages, often called “reverse” mortgages), or VA. And it applies to mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Most home mortgages in the U.S. are backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, but a mortgage issued by a community-based bank in a rural area may not be. Information about how to determine whether your mortgage is backed by a federal agency is provided here by the National Consumer Law Center.

Any homebuyer with coronavirus-related mortgage concerns should immediately contact the bank or agency where they send mortgage payments to discuss a forbearance agreement.

Letter from HAC CEO David Lipsetz

March 18, 2020/in Coronavirus, Coronavirus In Rural America

Dear Friends,

As a global community, we face an unprecedented challenge in the coming weeks and months as the COVID-19 pandemic moves through our cities, towns, and rural places. In the high-needs rural regions where HAC has worked for nearly 50 years, this challenge will be acutely felt. Rural communities are resilient, but face unique challenges with access to health care, services, broadband, and other basic social safety nets. Both on the ground and in Washington D.C., we are working with policymakers, partners, and funders to determine the best ways to continue to support the rural places and people we serve.

Like many of our friends and partners, HAC staff will be working remotely in the coming weeks to protect the health of our team and to do our part to help slow the spread of the virus in our communities. We are also limiting non-essential travel, events, in-person meetings. But rest assured, HAC staff are working hard and are ready to help in any way we can.

We also recognize that our local partners will likely face additional pressure to respond to the needs of the rural communities you serve. As always, we will be as responsive and flexible as possible and work hand-in-hand with you as this situation progresses.

We encourage you to check back regularly, as this page will be updated to include relevant resources as they become available.

Please reach out to any HAC staff member if you have questions.

Be well,

David Lipsetz, CEO

Respond to the 2020 Census

March 12, 2020/in Announcements, Rural News Persistent Poverty Counties

The 2020 Census is happening now and HAC encourages everyone living in the United States to respond. The Census is supposed to count every resident. The numbers are used to determine how billions of dollars of assistance are distributed, as well as how representation in Congress is divided. If you don’t respond, or if the Census misses you, your community gets fewer resources.

The 2020 Census does not ask about citizenship or documentation. It is illegal for the Census Bureau to share any of your information with any other government agencies, including law enforcement or immigration.

You can complete your questionnaire online, by phone, or by mail. Click here for information from the U.S. Census Bureau about the Census and how to respond.

You can complete the census online or by phone in 13 different languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese.

The Census Bureau also offers webpages and guides in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, as well as guides in Braille and large print. Click here to learn more.

Maria Chavira cooks tortillas, eggs, and beans inside her home

Rental Affordability Crisis Continues

February 6, 2020/in News, Rural News Housing Affordability, Rental Housing, Rental Housing Development and Preservation

Almost 40 percent of rural renters in the U.S. were cost burdened in 2018, according to a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. That means each of these 750,000 households paid more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities.

The report, America’s Rental Housing 2020, provides data on rental housing costs, households, housing stock and housing challenges.

Nationwide, the number of cost-burdened renters fell from 2014 to 2017 but rose again in 2018. Among geographic and income categories, the only decline in cost-burden rates from 2011 to 2018 was a 0.9 percent drop for nonmetro renters with incomes of $30,000-44,999. Housing affordability continues, however, to be a problem for more rural renters than any other housing concern.

Harvard’s analysis shows that, despite slowing demand and the continued strength of new construction, U.S. rental markets remain extremely tight. Vacancy rates are at decades-long lows, pushing up rents far faster than incomes. Both the number and share of cost-burdened renters are again on the rise, especially among middle-income households. These conditions reflect fundamental market changes since the recession, including an influx of higher-income households, constraints on new supply and substantial losses of low-cost rentals. With only limited federal support, state and local agencies are doing what they can to expand the affordable housing supply. What is needed, however, the researchers conclude, is a comprehensive response from all levels of government to address the scale of the nation’s rental affordability crisis.

The report notes that, in rural America, rental housing issues include not only cost burden but also a limited supply of rentals, substandard housing conditions and (citing HAC’s research) the loss of affordable rentals supported by USDA’s Section 515 program. In most U.S. regions the proportion of physically inadequate units is higher in nonmetro places than in metropolitan areas, as shown in tables accompanying the report. That difference is especially dramatic in the South, where 12.3 percent of nonmetro rental units are inadequate, compared to 7.9 percent in metro regions. Nationwide, while 11.7 percent of all rental units are in nonmetro places, a disproportionately high 14.8 percent of inadequate units are there.

Native American and Hispanic renters in rural areas are more likely than others to live in substandard housing, JCHS reports. For example, 14 percent of Native American renters in rural areas live in overcrowded rental units.

JCHS defined rural areas as nonmetropolitan places. The data would differ, at least slightly, if a different definition of rural was used.

Interactive data and graphics and the written report are available online.

Posted 2/6/2020

Feeling grateful this holiday season

December 20, 2019/in Blog Posts, Rural News

And looking forward to an even better 2020

A Message from HAC CEO David Lipsetz

2019 has been an incredible year for HAC, the communities that we serve, and rural America. That is in no small part due to the support and partnership of people like you. Thank you for joining us in this work.

The public spotlight on affordable housing and rural conditions continues to grow. Press coverage of an “affordability crisis” appears regularly in mainstream media. Congress is holding hearings and polls show that the general public considers it to be an important issue. And for the first time in memory, candidates for president are issuing detailed housing and rural development policy statements. HAC is translating the increased attention into action by partnering with national organizations and local practitioners to address the issues facing rural communities, while finding new ways to work together with local governments, community banks, community health providers, small business and more to better represent the broader needs of rural development.

Among the exciting events of 2019 was our launch of the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in which HAC helps rural communities engage in design thinking, creative placemaking, and leverage arts and culture to drive economic revitalization. We ran our first “CIRD Learning Cohort Summit” in the fall with 34 community leaders from 23 small towns based in 18 different states. We gathered in Thomas, West Virginia (pop. 660) to allow rural practitioners to focus on rural-specific issues with their rural peers in a rural setting. In the process, CIRD is expanding HAC’s capacity in community development and elevating our role in arts and creative placemaking.

2019 was a busy year for our Loan Fund. We opened wide for new business and made $9 million in new loans to support the development of decent, safe, affordable homes throughout rural America. We also built a pipeline of new activity that should bring over $16 million in additional capital investments over the next few years.

We also spent the year focusing our Training and Technical Assistance activities on its transformative work with small and emerging rural housing organizations to build capacity to serve their communities. One of my favorite examples has been our working with Magnolia CDC in Opelousas, LA to become a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). A CHDO designation will help Magnolia access funding opportunities like the Community Development Block Grant and serve more of their community.

As always, HAC’s Research and Information division is on the cutting edge when it comes to issues impacting rural America. We worked along the southern border to establish Colonias Investment Areas that help target opportunities for mortgage finance and community development. We analyzed the extent to which limited broadband access, food insecurity and natural disasters impacted rural prosperity. And in 2019, we influenced the debate on Community Reinvestment Act reform by analyzing how an expanded CRA could stem the tide of rural bank closures and expand access to mortgage credit in the nation’s most persistently poor places.

Looking ahead, 2020 will no doubt be another exciting year for HAC. We will see you at our biennial National Rural Housing Conference, send you the decennial update of our flagship publication Taking Stockand partner with you for vibrant, resilient and prosperous rural places. Thanks again for a great 2019. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Help Rural America Thrive on Giving Tuesday

December 3, 2019/in Impact, News, Rural News

Good things are happening in rural America. Be a part of it.

Too often, the prevailing narrative about rural America is that it is failing compared to its urban and suburban counterparts. While rural America is certainly facing its share of struggles, there are so many bright spots and amazing things taking place in small towns and communities across the country. We know because we see it every day.

In October, HAC kicked off the Citizens Institute on Rural DesignTM (CIRD) with the CIRD Learning Cohort Summit in the towns of Thomas, Davis, and Elkins in rural West Virginia. The Citizen’s Institute on Rural Design™ is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council, along with buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. Participants representing 23 rural communities from across the country convened to learn the fundamentals of rural design and how it can help solve some of their community’s most challenging problems.

Over the next year, these 23 communities will receive access to the resources they need to convert their own good ideas into reality. Here a few examples of the challenges these communities will be tackling:

One of the pressing issues still facing the residents of Iola, Kansas is the lack of quality, affordable housing. Thrive Allen County and the City of Iola will use the design challenge to develop an affordable housing master plan for a neighborhood on the north side of town.
The town of Entiat, Washington is exploring how it can reinvent itself as a destination for recreation, agritourism, small business development, and residential development.
The Mt. Zion Baptist Church Preservation Society in Athens, Ohio plans to rehabilitate the Mt. Zion Baptist Church into a multi-use space devoted to the contributions of African Americans in Southeast Ohio – honoring its founding in 1905 by a community of free-born and formerly enslaved people of color.

2020 holds many possibilities for HAC and the communities we partner with, like Iola, Entiat, and Athens. This #GivingTuesday, your donation to HAC will have more impact as every dollar raised will meet HAC’s match for the CIRD program. And every donation made to HAC on Facebook on #GivingTuesday will be matched by Facebook. You can be a part of changing the story in rural America.

Claudia Miranda and her mother, Martha Baltazar, in front of Martha’s home at Rosaleda Village in Wasco, Calif.

Federal Funding Extended to Dec. 20

November 22, 2019/in Announcements, Policy, Rural News

Just before federal funding expired on November 21, 2019, Congress passed and President Trump signed a second continuing resolution that funds the government at fiscal year 2019 levels through December 20, 2019. The bill includes tweaks to some non-housing programs and adds funding for 2020 Census preparation.

The House and Senate have passed differing USDA and HUD appropriations bills for fiscal year 2020, which started on October 1, 2019. Much work remains to be done on these and other funding measures before December 20. HAC will post updates on its website and in the HAC News newsletter. Subscribe to the free HAC News here.

Applications Due soon! HAC Seeks Proposals for Its Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans (AHRV) Initiative

November 12, 2019/in Announcements, Rural News Veterans

HAC’s Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans initiative supports local nonprofit housing development organizations that meet or help meet the affordable housing needs of veterans in rural places. Grants typically range up to $30,000 per organization and must support bricks-and-mortar projects that assist low-income, elderly and/or disabled veterans with home repair and rehab needs, support homeless veterans, help veterans become homeowners, and/or secure affordable rental housing.

This initiative is funded through the generous support of The Home Depot Foundation.

Applications are due by 5:00PM (EST) on or before November 15, 2019.

Download the Application Package: Application | Application Guidelines

For more information, contact HAC staff, ahrv@ruralhome.org. No phone calls please.

Supreme Court Rules Citizenship Question on Census Needs a Better Rationale

June 27, 2019/in News, Policy, Rural News Vulnerable Populations

The Supreme Court has ruled that including a citizenship question on the decennial census is permitted by the Constitution, but that the Commerce Department’s stated reason for adding the question is not supported by the facts. The case will now return to a lower court. It is not clear whether a final determination can be made in time to include the question on the 2020 Census, even if different justification is provided.

Those who oppose adding the question argued in court that it would make non-citizens, even those with legal status in the U.S., less likely to respond to the 2020 Census because of concerns about immigration enforcement. Rural residents, especially those who live in remote areas, and minorities are already undercounted.

The nine Justices split differently in parts of the June 27, 2019 decision in Department of Commerce v. New York. Five justices – Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Thomas – comprised the majority holding that the Constitution allows inclusion of a citizenship question. A majority consisting of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan and Sotomayor held that the Commerce Department must provide a better explanation of its reasons for including the question. Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act was the Department’s public rationale for asking about citizenship, but evidence cited by the court indicated that was not its real motivation.

The decennial census did include a question about citizenship until 1950. From 1960 to 2000, the question was included on the “long form” census questionnaire that went to a sample of households and asked more detailed questions than the “short form” distributed to everyone. In 2010 the American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the long form and began asking about citizenship. The ACS surveys a sample of the population every year, so its data is constantly updated, unlike the census count every ten years.

Based on the most recent ACS, the Census Bureau estimates that 2.8 percent of the population in rural places and small towns are non-citizens. To view the data for your community and its reliability, visit HAC’s Rural Data Portal.