Community — Top News — Government — Henrico COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance — Community Development Block Grant — Emergency Food and Shelter Program
Henrico distributed $573,000 to citizens through emergency rental assistance program
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The Henrico COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance program, established to allocate federal relief dollars to citizens in need, distributed $573,000 to county residents. The program, which ran from July 13, 2020 to June 21 this year, received 597 total applications and approved 202 households approved for financial assistance, according to Henrico County Supervisor of Adult Social Services Paul Woodard. Applicants had to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible to receive funds, including renting a primary residence in Henrico County and having a loss of income during the pandemic as a result of COVID-19 due to factors including medical vulnerability, workplace closure or job loss, reduced hours, or reduced compensation. Applicants' household income also could not exceed 80% of the area median household income, which for a family of four would be roughly $71,500, according to Woodard.
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Seventy-seven percent of those applicants we approved had also qualified for other low-income benefits programs,” Woodard said. “So that could have been like Medicaid or a SNAP program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.”Those residing in the 23228 ZIP code, which includes Dumbarton, Lakeside and Laurel, received the most funding within the county.The funding for these applicants came from three primary grants: the Community Development Block Grant, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program from the CARES Act and the annual Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Residents could access the application, which included the program guidelines and a brief survey, online, pick it up from the Henrico Social Services office or have it mailed to their home.Once the program closed, Henrico Social Services directed its residents to the Virginia Rent Relief Program, which had been open since June 29, 2020. That program has distributed more than $17 million to 3,130 Henrico County households in need as of July 1 – an average of about $5,500 per household.“
[VRRP] is running really strong right now, so we want to make sure that people get connected because we're not out of this yet,” Woodard said. VRRP utilizes $62 million that Gov. Ralph Northam has allocated from the state's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, funding. The program also received bridge funding through the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and $524 million through a second tranche of federal funding. The program has continued to provide rent relief to Virginians since June 2020, according to Amanda Love, associate director of human resources and communications at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. VRRP currently is open to any resident of Henrico County, including landlords and tenants.“
Housing stability has become more vital than ever, and more apparent that we need it in the midst of a pandemic when all of us are being asked to stay home,” she said. “It is definitely necessary for people to have somewhere to call home.” Applications and additional information are available on the program’s website and by emailing rrp@dhcd.virginia.gov.
