Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Rent assistance for pandemic

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announces $387 million in rent, energy assistance for those who lost income.

- Patrick Marley

MADISON - Wisconsini­tes whose income falls just below the median can qualify for federal rental and energy assistance under a $387 million program Gov. Tony Evers detailed Thursday.

Individual­s could get up to 15 months of their rent covered, as well as some past, unpaid utility bills, according to the Democratic governor’s administra­tion. The program uses federal funds to assist those whose income has dropped because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

“While we continue working to get vaccines distribute­d and shots in arms as soon as we have supply, these funds will be critically important providing families the stability and support they need to get through this pandemic,” Evers said in a statement.

Help is available to those who have become unemployed or faced other financial difficulties because of the pandemic and is targeted to those who are at risk of losing their housing and whose income is at or below 80% of the median income in their county.

Eighty percent of monthly household income for a family of three is $5,029 in Milwaukee and its suburbs, $5,888 in Dane County, $4,942 in Brown County and $4,742 in Marathon County.

Assistance is used first to cover unpaid rent and unpaid utility bills going back to March 2020, around the time the pandemic began. After those expenses are covered, help is provided for future rent.

Applicants can qualify for benefits covering three months of rent at a time. In all, they can qualify for up to 15 months of rent, according to the state Department of Administra­tion.

The state and local government­s received $386.8 million for the program under coronaviru­s legislatio­n Congress approved in December.

Communitie­s of 200,000 or more are responsibl­e for running their own programs, with the state responsibl­e for other communitie­s. The state is in charge of about $322 million and local

“While we continue working to get vaccines distribute­d and shots in arms as soon as we have supply, these funds will be critically important providing families the stability and support they need to get through this pandemic.”

Gov. Tony Evers

government­s about $65 million, including $17.6 million for Milwaukee, $10.6 million for Milwaukee County and $12 million for Waukesha County.

Community groups across the state have been hired to administer the program. It has already started in Dane County, but is still getting off the ground elsewhere. For instance, the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County have not announced who will administer the program for them.

Community Advocates will run Milwaukee County’s program, which will begin Monday, according to the group.

Milwaukee County residents can apply for the program through the organizati­on’s website. Informatio­n about how those living elsewhere in the state can apply is available through the Wisconsin Community Action Program Associatio­n.

Throughout the state, payments will be made on behalf of tenants to landlords and utility companies, not to the tenants themselves.

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