The United Way of the CSRA launched an emergency rental assistance program backed by a U.S. Treasury grant. The program is designed to help individuals and families stay in their homes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This program is designed to help the countless individuals and families at risk of eviction in Richmond County,” said Brittany Burnett, who is president and CEO of United Way of the CSRA. “United Way is proud to administer this program that will help our neighbors in the CSRA remain safe in their homes as they get back on their feet.”
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The $6 million dollar grant from the U.S. Treasury will be allocated to paying landlords directly for those that qualify for the program. The United Way’s 211 Contact Center is handling the eligibility proceedings, and applicants must meet a certain criteria.
Applicants must qualify for unemployment or have experienced a hardship that has reduced income due to COVID-19. There must be some risk of housing instability or homelessness, as well as an income level at or below 80% of the area median income. The program is exclusive to Richmond County residents who are currently renting.
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According to Burnett, this program was offered to communities across the country with more than 200,000 people and Richmond County fell into that category.
“Those funds went to the Housing and Community Development Department, and they asked us to implement the project,” Burnett said. “That includes screening the callers, gathering documentation and ultimately paying the landlords or utility providers.”
There’s high interest in the program, approximately 1,800 families are “in the queue,” according to Burnett, which means they have submitted basic info to United Way and will receive a call back requesting additional documentation for review. Applicants’ landlords must also produce documentation proving a tenant is behind.
The United Way also comes out for an in-person habitability review, which involves a representative coming out to the residence of an applicant and makes sure someone is really living there. All these steps must be met in order to trigger payment, which has already began happening for applicants that were accepted at the very beginning of the program.
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In terms of the impact this has on the community, Burnett was happy the United Way could make a visible difference.
“We know COVID-19 has affected every single person and family in this community. In some cases, it’s been more severe others.” she said. “Whatever we can do to aid the homelessness prevention effort is of interest to us, and keeping families stable and secure is why we are in this space.”
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“We want to support the community,: she continued. “There are long-term needs to this community and this is one way we can literally keep rooves over people’s heads.”
Individuals interested in the program should visit www.uwcsra.org or text RENT to 50503. There is a mailbox outside the United Way offices to accept documentation from applicants that are not able to submit electronically.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
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