Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund Expands Hardship Assistance Program
The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA) has expanded their Coronavirus Hardship Program to provide additional relief to families experiencing financial hardship due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The program previously provided grant assistance to federal employees with salaries of less than $50,000 per year. The program has been expanded to be eligible for federal employees with salaries of less than $75,000 per year.
Under the program, no-fee, no-interest hardship loans of up to $1,000 are available to federal employees who have exhausted all annual, sick, advanced, and FFCRA leave from their agency, are currently showing leave without pay on their most recent pay stub and are:
hospitalized with COVID-19; or
severely ill at home with COVID-19 (unable to work); or
required to quarantine at home and unable to work; or
serving as primary caregiver for a family member, living in in the employee’s home, who is seriously ill with COVID-19
Federal employees with salaries under $75,000 per year may be eligible for a $500 grant/$500 loan combination by filling out an application through the FEEA Coronavirus Hardship Program.
FEEA is also providing bridge grants to spouses or children of federal employees who have passed away due to COVID-19 and federal employees who have lost a spouse or child due to COVID-19. Individuals can email FEEA at emergency@feea.org to learn more about bridge grants.
“While we know many feds may be suffering from other negative economic events related to the pandemic, our limited resources require us to begin by helping those who are seriously ill. Our regular loan program is still available for those suffering from other serious illnesses and disasters,” the announcement explains.
Since 1986, FEEA has supported more than 50,000 federal employee families with emergency disaster relief grants, scholarships, and childcare subsidies all across the United States and from almost every federal department and agency.