Bank, United Way start relief fund for area renters

Wells Fargo on Tuesday announced a $750,000 grant to the United Way Bay Area for emergency rent relief to tenants struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Way hopes to raise an additional $2.5 million for the assistance fund for Bay Area renters during the next six months. The initial grant is part of the San Franciscobased bank’s $175 million national relief pledge to housing and aid groups.

“People are in desperate need of assistance,” said Kevin Zwick, CEO of United Way Bay Area. The grant “couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The grants will serve residents in eight Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano. Renters seeking assistance can apply at one of the United Way’s 10 SparkPoint community centers, which also provide financial counseling.

The Bay Area has some of the highest housing costs in the country, and widespread unemployment has made it even more difficult for many lowand moderate-income tenants to pay rent. Zwick cited a recent survey that found roughly 3 in 4 Bay Area tenants were severely rent-burdened, paying more than half of their income in rent.

Erica Trejo, community relations senior manager at Wells Fargo, said the grants will help prevent families from falling behind on rent and slipping into homelessness. “Housing in the Bay Area is a big problem,” Trejo said. “We really are concerned about future evictions.”

Amie Fishman, executive director of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, said corporate donations can play a key role to help struggling renters during the pandemic.

“It’s great,” she said. “In fact, we need them to double down and do more.”