Tribally Designated Housing Entity Archives - The Times Weekly

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Homeowners struggling to make housing-related payments due to the pandemic, help is on the way

by Times Weekly Staff February 15, 2022April 3, 2024

If you are a homeowner and COVID-19 has made it difficult for you to pay your mortgage, utilities, property taxes, or other home expenses, financial assistance may already be available for you. The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) was established by the American Rescue Plan Act to help homeowners financially impacted by COVID-19 with housing-related costs. This federal assistance program provides money to states, Tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia to assist homeowners with housing-related costs.
HAF can provide financial assistance for mortgage payments (including past due payments), and, depending on the program, may also be used for homeowners’ insurance, utility bills, property taxes, homeowners’ association fees, certain home repairs, and other specified housing costs. The amount of funds available per household will depend on your situation and where you live. Some locations have started accepting applications, and more are on the way. In total, approximately $10 billion will be disbursed to programs across the country.

Juneteenth, America’s newest federal holiday, was meant to symbolize a national reckoning with history and a celebration of freedom when President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law in 2021. Yet, just a few years later, we find Juneteenth events canceled in cities across Indiana, Illinois, and Oregon, as backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives intensifies. This is not just an administrative shift, it’s a cultural one. As some seek to erase or diminish Black joy, we must remember that indulging in joy itself has always been an act of resistance.

From the earliest Juneteenth celebrations to today’s block parties and art festivals, play and happiness have been tools for survival and defiance. For Black and brown communities, joy has always been revolutionary. BLM was founded in 2013 in response to unspeakable tragedies, ones where ruthless oppression, abuse of power, and brutalities flooded our social media timelines following the murder of innocent young men like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Yet even in mourning, our communities found ways to laugh, dance, and dream together. The movement’s global resonance is rooted in this duality, the courage to confront injustice, and the audacity to celebrate life.

More recently, we’ve invested in youth sports programs in local communities and abroad, from Brooklyn, New York to Ghana, to ensure we are building from the inside out and advocating for the most vulnerable. We are guided by the wisdom of our ancestors, who, even in the darkest times, found ways to nurture hope and rebuild. This Juneteenth, let us do more than remember the past. Let us build the future. Migration is a declaration of hope. Just as Black Americans fled the South during the Great Migration seeking dignity, safety, and opportunity, today’s immigrants are doing the same. We call on local leaders, philanthropists, and allies to invest in Black communities and to stand in solidarity with all who are still fighting for freedom. The right to give, to gather, and to celebrate, are as vital as any policy change.