Emergency aid available for renters
Officials promote program offering $24 million for those behind on payments
Pennsylvania struggled last year to help renters in need of emergency assistance, leaving $96 million of the $150 million allotted for aid stuck in bureaucratic red tape. This year, it’s already doing better, officials say.
More than 350 households have applied for an updated version of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, said Tom Miller, the Catholic Charities official overseeing the program in Lehigh County. Despite the struggles last year, he’s confident the funds will reach the families and landlords that need it most. He’s already seen the difference.
“I hear throughout the year COVID’s impact, many tales of desperation and hopelessness. Just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve got to experience the opposite of that,” he said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many people have cried on the phone when they hear they got into this program.”
Elected leaders from Lehigh County gathered Wednesday to promote the program, which will provide up to $24 million to thousands of county residents who have fallen behind on their leases.
Homelessness has become a growing concern for government officials and service providers in the region. Rob Nicoletta, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Allentown, estimated that 1,500-2,000 households in the county have fallen behind on their rent payments. Even with an eviction moratorium in place, renters will be hard-pressed to instantly pay their back rent once protections disappear. The program allows renters to make up to 12 rent payments provided they can show proof of residence and they have been financially harmed by the pandemic.
“There are many problems caused by COVID-19. Worrying about a roof over your head shouldn’t be one of them,” Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong said at the news conference in Allentown.
He and others praised state and federal officials for moving quickly to address the crisis. The program is funded by the $1.9 trillion aid measure passed by Congress this month. About $848 million of that is going toward rent assistance in Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild was one of the act’s supporters who enabled it to pass in the House by just nine votes.
Wild said the program was important to her because of the protection it would offer children. She said it’s bad enough that lesson plans have been disrupted, but school districts provide other critical services to families in need. As the pandemic has dragged on, reports have popped up across the country of schools losing touch with families and students who couldn’t afford to stay in their homes.
“It benefits our children who really need as much continuity as possible as we’ve gone through this crisis,” she said.
Wild and others were optimistic the new version of the program will avoid many of the pitfalls that plagued Pennsylvania’s last Emergency Rental Assistance program. The renewed program instead relies on a decentralized system where county government oversees the assistance.
Lehigh County has partnered with the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley and Catholic Charities to oversee the program. Catholic Charities will handle applications and the approval process, while CACLV will send checks once everything is approved. Bethany DiMatteo of CACLV said checks can go out within days of an application being signed off on.
Emergency Rental Assistance Program details
Lehigh County residents and landlords looking for rent assistance can apply online by going to catholiccharitiesad.org and selecting the Rent Assistance tab. Renters are encouraged to have their landlords apply on their behalf.
Eligible households must be able to show some form of financial burden because of the pandemic, Miller and Nicoletta said. This could be unemployment, a reduction of hours, or someone in the household dying from the virus, causing a loss of income. The households must also be able to provide proof of residency such as with a lease or utility bill.
Landlords are incentivized to participate in the applications because the checks will be sent directly to them if they participate. Landlords will need to provide proof they own the property and their tax ID number.