With a deadline looming next week, hundreds of households in St. Louis County have accessed federal housing assistance by documenting hardship related to COVID-19.
Sources say households applying for funding are people who are not typical users of public assistance.
Instead, they’re people who have been laid off, furloughed or lost income in other ways and are fighting to pay rent, mortgages or utility bills.
“The biggest thing we’re noticing is that the need is so great,” said Rosalyn Horn, director of residential services for The Salvation Army in Duluth.
Households like these in Lincoln Park can apply for help with their rent, mortgage and utilities through the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
So far, 250 households in St. Louis County have been served, with 400 additional applications currently being processed.
The deadline for the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program, or CHAPS, is Dec. 7.
St. Louis County received $3.2 million in funding from the program, said Stacy Radosevich, senior planner for St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services.
“We probably won’t reach the amount that’s available to us,” Radosevich said, explaining that the assistance process is foreign to most program users and requires a lot of time from agency case workers involved in the funding.
To date, only $400,000 from that total has been accessed, but the money, from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has to be distributed by the end of the year or is expected to be lost.
Locally, the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority, One Roof, The Salvation Army and the Arrowhead Equal Opportunity Agency, on the Iron Range, are coordinating with the county to distribute the funding.
"I was really thrilled St. Louis County and our homeless programs unit was willing to work with all our community partners," Radosevich said, describing a big lift to get the program running locally.
Households within 300% of federal poverty guidelines are eligible to receive funding. For instance, a household of one making $3,190 per month or a household of four making $6,550 per month.
The Vintage Acres mobile home park in Duluth. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
“The funding coming into the state is able to help families with a higher income than most assistance,” said Heather Lindula, a housing advocate for Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota, based in Virginia.
It’s a laborious process, but agencies are urging those who need the money to file.
Horn said case workers at The Salvation Army are spending up to 50% of their time on the applications, which require verification of loss of income due to COVID-19. It’s work on top of the work agencies are already doing.
“It’s taking more hand-holding than people expected,” Radosevich said. “We’re reaching a population that, a lot of them, traditionally haven’t asked for assistance.”
But landlords, utility companies, the county and agencies involved have worked hard to market the program by using radio spots, sending letters home with students or in utility bills, and posting fliers at grocery stores.
Lindula said she hoped watching small businesses use federal relief funding associated with the coronavirus helped to destigmatize seeking assistance for households that pride themselves on scraping by through tough times.
“It’s there to help you because of the impact by COVID,” Lindula said. “I’m hoping people realize that, and, based on the number of people applying, I think they are.”
State and federal eviction moratoriums have allowed households to build up back-rent without immediate consequences. But Radosevich said a large portion of applicants aren’t paying much back-due rent.
Homes along 24th Avenue West in Duluth. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
Rent or mortgage payments from March 1 through the end of the year are eligible for the funding. The program rolled out in late August.
“We were estimating several months rent people would be paying,” Radosevich said. “But that’s rarely the case. People were paying their rent and keeping up with it. The average amount we’re paying out is not what we expected.”
To begin the application process for the assistance, households can call 211, visit 211unitedway.org or text MNRENT or MNHOME to 898-211.
Applicants cannot be part of another subsidized program. Many subsidized programs already adjust rent down when incomes drop.
"This is for folks who don't have that ability to reduce their rent based on their income," Radosevich said. "They need to have past-due rent, mortgage or utilities. It's really expanded funding options. It has to be loss of income related to COVID, but that has been pretty flexible."
Trash cans sit outside homes at Pleasant View Mobile Home Park in Duluth on Monday. Hundreds of households in St. Louis County are applying for help with their rent, mortgage and utilities through the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program available in St. Louis County. The application deadline is Dec. 7. (Jed Carlson / jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)
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Hundreds of St. Louis County households hit by COVID-19 seek assistance - Duluth News Tribune
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