Press Releases - County Council

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits will be the focus of “En Sintonía con el Concejo del Condado de Montgomery”, today at 2 p.m. on Radio America

For Immediate Release: Friday, July 9, 2021

The guests will also talk about COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in the County

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 9, 2021 —Spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Marcie Castañeda; Director of Business Diversity and Inclusion with the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Daniel Parra; Community Engagement Specialist at Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar Ingrid Lizama and Senior Program Specialist with the Latino Health Initiative Dr. Luis Aguirre will be the featured guests on this week’s En Sintonía con El Concejo del Condado de Montgomery (In Tune with the Montgomery County Council), airing today at 2 p.m. on Radio America (WILC 900AM).

In the first part of the show, Ms. Castañeda will provide information about the Maryland Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which provides short-term rental assistance to eligible households who have experienced lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has caused them to fall behind on their rent. Through this program, families are eligible for up to $12,000 in emergency rent relief for up to 15 months of lost rent.

Following this discussion, Mr. Parra will talk about MCEDC’s Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits, which is accepting applications through July 19, 2021. The program offers competitively selected grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 and will be awarded to Montgomery County nonprofits with programs centered on minority and women entrepreneurship, STEM education, research and innovation development, and small-scale manufacturing. More information on the fund and the application can be found here.

To conclude the show, Ms. Lizama and Dr. Aguirre will talk about the COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites throughout Montgomery County and provide residents with information on the COVID-19 Delta variant. They will also discuss the public health initiatives of community organizations in the County like Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar and public health services provided by the Latino Health Initiative.

The Montgomery County Council and Radio America have entered a partnership that provides the Latino community with key information on issues and programs. The partnership also provides a forum for residents to express their views and ask questions. The partnership includes the weekly one-hour show each Friday on the Washington metropolitan area’s most popular Spanish language station. Lilian Mass is the show’s host.

Each week, the show features guests talking about important issues before the Council and provides information about programs offered by the County to help residents.

Release ID: 21-279
Media Contact: Lilian Mass 240-907-9008, Lucia Jimenez 240-777-7932