WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department stated that it had obligated over $25 billion to its Emergency Rental Assistance Program in 2021. This was to allow eligible Americans to remain in their homes. Over 80% of these funds went to very low-income households.

According to the Treasury, the demographic information on the program was released for the first-time. More than 40% of applicants who received assistance in the fourth quarter 2021 identified themselves as Black and 20% as Latino.

Research by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab found that nearly two thirds of all rental assistance was provided by female-headed households during the quarter.

Wally Adeyemo (Deputy Treasury Secretary of the United States) stated that the 46.6 billion COVID-19-related aid act passed in December 2020, March 2021, was designed to stop an eviction crises among the most vulnerable.

He stated that the majority of rent assistance was used to keep the poorest families inside their homes in the midst of the pandemic.

Although the program was slow to get off to a good start, local communities struggled to build infrastructure to approve aid. In 2021 it disbursed $20.6 Billion, and December saw $2.4 Billion.

This defines “very low income” to be someone earning less than 50% of the area’s median income.