Thank you for your continued support of New Virginia Majority! Check out our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on all our events, actions, and advocacy NVM has been part of this month.
End of Eviction Moratorium & Resources
The federal eviction moratorium ends on July 31. Housing advocates predict a forthcoming massive wave of evictions coinciding with a surge in cases linked to the Delta variant.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rent/utility assistance search tool
Virginia Rent Relief Program information
Eviction Legal Helpline: Call 1-833-NoEvict
Find your Legal Aid office: Call 1-866-LEGL-AID
2021 Election Endorsements
This month we announced our first round of endorsements in the 2021 electoral cycle in Virginia. Tram Nguyen, the Co-Executive Director of NVM, stated in our press release, “To continue our transformational progress, it is imperative that we elect candidates who have a history of engaging with our communities. We are excited to work alongside our community members and partners to elect champions and allies who will fight with us to keep Virginia moving forward.”
August General Assembly Special Session Priorities
On August 2nd, legislators will head to Richmond to make budget allocations of up to $4.3 billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act. NVM will be advocating that this extra funding should prioritize helping communities hit hardest by the pandemic and economic crisis. You can click here to read our full list of budget priorities for this Special Session.
These are NVM’s key budget recommendations which are organized into four key areas:
1) Improving Our Unemployment Insurance System
2) Prioritizing Eviction Diversion and Tenants' Right to Counsel
3) Bolstering Utility Debt Relief and Forgiveness
4) Equitably Funding our Schools Statewide
Demands to the Virginia Employment Commission
On July 15th the Unemployment Action Coalition held a rally and press conferences with demands to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). There are currently tens of thousands of Virginians still waiting to receive unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic. The coalition is demanding one-time grants of $1,000 to individuals with unprocessed applications for unemployment benefits.
There is a lack of adequate language and translation services for community members navigating the unemployment system. The coalition is also demanding a $5 million dollar investment to create a multilingual online application process and outreach materials, as well as to support efforts to increase staffing at call centers.
Tram Nguyen on how Virginia passed its own Voting Rights Act
New Virginia Majority’s Co-Executive Director, Tram Nguyen, was interviewed by the Institute for Southern Studies going in depth about the passage of the Virginia Voting Rights Act this year. Click here to read the full article
Thank you for your continued support of New Virginia Majority, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates. Together, we can lead the way towards more just Virginia for all of us.
In solidarity,
The New Virginia Majority Development Team