Oregon Housing and Community Services announced Monday it will give $929,025 to Lane County’s Community Action Agency to provide relief to renters.
To be considered for the funding, renters will need to contact Lane County Human Services Division, the county’s CAA. Documents proving lost income and other materials are required to access the program.
It will be up to the local agency to determine how the funds will be used and if rents will be partially covered or entirely covered, Nicole Stoenner, a spokeswoman for OHCS, told The Register-Guard.
Rent payments will be made directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant. CAAs will begin taking applications from renters in the coming days, according to a news release.
The county’s Housing Services Division administers anti-poverty funds through programs for nutrition, rental assistance, homelessness prevention, low-income energy assistance and weatherization. Much of the county’s CAA funding comes from Oregon Housing and Community Services.
OHCS allocated the renter-relief funds through a needs-based formula that weighed severe rent burden data, poverty data, homelessness data and unemployment claims.
“Many Oregonians are struggling to pay rent, and low-income Oregonians and communities of color are more likely to be rent burdened than their white counterparts,” wrote OHCS in the press release.
A total of $8.5 million was allocated by the Oregon Legislature to regional Community Action Agencies across the state through the Joint Emergency Board. Lane County was given the second-largest sum. Multnomah County will receive $1,639,002.
“Through no fault of their own, many Oregonian families are facing an abrupt loss of income and find themselves unable to pay their rent during this pandemic,” said Gov. Kate Brown in the news release. “Through Oregon Housing and Community Services, we can deliver immediate rent relief so that more families can stay housed as we work to build a safe and strong Oregon.”
Stoenner added that the agency knows the money will not meet the need and anticipates additional resources from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act will be made available in the weeks ahead.
Contact reporter Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick at Tatiana@registerguard.com or 541-338-2454, and follow her on Twitter @TatianaSophiaPT. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
