By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
KEENE — With the expiration of a federal moratorium on tenant evictions, community support organizations across New Hampshire hope a new rental assistance program can stave a spike in tenant evictions.
In June, the state of New Hampshire approved a $35 million program, using federal funds received in the CARES Act, to assist with housing and homelessness needs amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Approximately $20 million of these funds will be distributed between community service programs across the state to assist residents with their payments for rent, utilities and mortgages.
Keith Tebo of Southwestern Community Services, whose organization provides an array of support services across Sullivan and Cheshire counties, said these funds come at a critical time. Not only did federal moratorium on tenant evictions expire on June 30, the additional $600 per week in unemployment — another provision of the CARES Act — is also about to end.
“So many people whose employment has been interrupted because of COVID-19 have been supported by the additional $600 per week in [federal] unemployment,” Tebo said. “That money allowed many families to keep their heads above water. That’s going to end for a lot of families very soon.”
Through the assistance program, which launched on June 30, families needing living assistance can receive up to $2,500 in one-time aid, or up to $6,000 for long-term needs, to spend on rent, utilities or mortgage payments or property taxes, Tebo said.
Landlords who have financially-struggling tenants are also eligible to apply for funds, Tebo said.
Tebo said that many landlords have sought help from Southwestern since the beginning of the pandemic, as many tenants have been unable to pay rent during the past few months.
Importantly, the underlying intent of the CARES Act was to provide economic stimulus, first and foremost, Tebo pointed out. The rental assistance program has a two-fold purpose, to help people whose incomes were disturbed by the pandemic, and flow money into the local economies.
“It’s really important to get this money onto Main Street,” Tebo said. “If rent gets paid, that means landlords can pay their mortgages and property taxes and buy fuel. As much as the money is to help people pay back-due rent, the real money here is to keep the economy stimulated. That’s the purpose of the CARES Act money in its purest form.”
Tebo said that Southwestern will be documenting who will be getting paid and for what reason, to ensure that money is spent
“We are collecting and keeping documentation that the money is going to be used for the intended purpose,” Tebo said. “And if a landlord decides to evict someone for non-payment of rent where we had provided them with rental assistance, the resident will have that document to present if the case goes in front of a judge.”
The application process is streamlined to be as simplified and user-friendly as possible, Tebo said. A resident needing assistance for any reason — be it housing, fuel, food or other support — can access the application at www.scshelps.org and click on the request assistance link to access the portal. The application is short and only requests basic information about the person or family in need.
“We make the process very simple to get us and we have a team ready to respond right away,” Tebo said. “One thing about accessing services over the years is that it’s been complicated and hard to get a hold of people. But we’ve embraced the technology side so that it’s one simple email to get you into our system.”
Southwestern Community Services is also applying for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in Claremont to make needed upgrades to the emergency family shelter it owns in Claremont. On Wednesday, the Claremont City Council gave approval for the city to submit the grant on behalf of the community assistance program.
“The city, to its credit, reached out to us and offered to sponsor a CDBG application,” Tebo said. “The city of Claremont, over the past couple of years, has really stepped it up in their willingness to assist us and other social service agencies… They have been a very good community partner with us over the last few several years.”
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