The supporters you're referring to were called patrons. Patrons were usually wealthy merchants or people who have made their fortune in other ways and wanted to either have a picture of themselves and their family, or generally had a desire to support painting, some even decided to order paintings for the church in order to get in good standing with the church officials.
According to the section 8 housing, they pay less money for rent and the rest is subsidized by the government because they are considered by law to be a low income family. The rented apartments that are owned privately get paid for in part by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make it easier for people with low income to live.
Repeating mistakes we made again in the future, hope this helped.
