ASHEVILLE – Nearly $8 million in federal dollars is coming to Buncombe County to help those who qualify to pay for rent and utilities after the county Board of Commissioners voted to approve the grant at its Jan. 3 meeting.
The county has already spent about $19.5 million in grant money on housing assistance over the past few years, but money from those programs dropped sharply in September, when the county was forced to halt its assistance program rent, according to a presentation given to the commissioners. by the County Health and Human Services Economic Services Director Phillip Hardin.
The new $8 million comes from the North Carolina Office of Pandemic Recovery, which manages funds given to the state from federal COVID-19 pandemic relief programs, and will restart the program.
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“Our hope is that if the budget amendment is approved, we would start accepting applications again tomorrow. Several people have been kind enough to wait for us,” Hardin said at the meeting. “We knew these dollars were sitting there, so I mean, people are calling almost once a week to say, ‘Have you got the dollars yet?'”
To qualify, renters must make less than or equal to 80% of the area median income, which is $3,750 per month or $45,000 per year for a one-person household, and $4,283 per month or $51,400 for of the year for a family of two. year, Hardin told the Citizen Times before the Jan. 3 meeting. Renters must also be county residents and be able to prove they faced financial hardship during the COVID-19, he said.
Renters seeking assistance will be assigned contract caseworkers, who will also be paid with the grant money, and those caseworkers will determine whether or not the renter is experiencing financial hardship, Hardin said. Examples of financial hardship, he said, include job loss, salary cuts, medical bills or a broken-down car.
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Proof of rent owed or contact information for the renter’s landlord will also be required to apply, Hardin said. To apply, renters can call 828-250-5500 and say they want to apply for rent or utility assistance. A caseworker will then call them back and go over the application with them, he said.
In addition to the five caseworkers, three temporary accounting technicians will also be funded through the grant, leaving only 5% of the total amount to go towards administrative fees. The technicians will process the payments and invoices, Hardin said.
Previous housing assistance programs have helped more than 6,500 people with average payments of about $5,000, Hardin said. Those programs, according to Hardin, include:
- Community Development Block Grant:
- $825,000 originally granted and $366,000 remaining.
- It must be spent by January 2024.
- 182 people helped.
- It is mainly focused on mortgage payments.
- Granted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in August 2021.
- Emergency Rental Assistance One:
- $7.8 million originally donated with $0 remaining.
- It needed to be spent by September 30, 2022.
- 2,668 people helped.
- Received directly from US Treasury in January 2021.
- Emergency Rental Assistance Two:
- $6.1 million originally donated with $0 remaining.
- It needed to be spent by September 30, 2025.
- 2,112 people helped.
- Received directly from US Treasury in May 2021.
- NCPRO One Emergency Rental Assistance:
- $5.1 million originally donated with $0 remaining.
- It needed to be spent by September 30, 2022.
- 1,733 people helped.
- Granted by the state’s Office of Pandemic Recovery.
- The county had to return about $1 million after not spending it by the deadline.
Past reporting:Help rent, heating bills: $4.1 million coming to Bun Combe for emergency help
Community Block Grant:$576,000 in grant applications between homelessness and starting businesses
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The new grant approved Jan. 3, known as the NCPRO Two Emergency Rental Assistance, is expected to be spent within 15 months and is the last grant of its kind given to the county, Hardin said.
Christian Smith is the general assignment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Questions or comments? Contact him at [email protected] or 828-274-2222
