State hands out millions in rental assistance money

State hands out millions in rental assistance money
 
By Mary Steurer
Casper Star-Tribune
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
CASPER  — The Wyoming Department of Family Services in June doled out more pandemic rental relief than any other month in the program’s tenure. 
The federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which opened last April, helps struggling renters stay housed. Department of Family Services Executive Director Korin Schmidt said the agency administered about $5.6 million of ERAP money last month. The previous record-holder was April, during which it dished out $5.4 million. 
ERAP applications spiked suddenly in January and December, Schmidt said. Demand for rental assistance has been steadily increasing since then. 
The Department of Family Services received about 160 applications a day in June, Schmidt said. A year prior, it received about 60 a day. 
“We’re starting to see some of the effects of high gas prices and food costs,” Schmidt said. 
ERAP rental assistance is also easier to get these days, she noted. 
The first wave of pandemic relief, passed by Congress in late 2020, gave Wyoming $200 million. Federal regulations, which set strict limits for who qualified for ERAP, made the initial round difficult to get out the door. 
The program’s second round, passed last year, loosened those up considerably. 
Wyoming is expected to receive a total of $152 million from that package, which expires in 2025. 
The program’s income limits are also higher. Households applying for ERAP money can’t make more than 80% of their area median income. But that value is updated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development every April. 
This year, the ceiling went up a few thousand in most Wyoming counties, Schmidt said. 
As of June 1, the program had given out $42 million total. $33 million of that went to landlords, $6.1 million to renters, $2.6 million to utilities companies and another $5,700 to reimburse moving costs. 
Schmidt told the Star-Tribune in March the agency doesn’t expect to run out of rental assistance before 2025. 
But the money won’t last forever, she said. And renters can only get ERAP money for 18 months max, per federal regulations. 
“This isn’t a long-term fix for any of the problems,” she said. 
To apply for the ERAP program, visit the Department of Family Services’ website at dfs.wyo.gov.
 
 
This story was published on June 30, 2022.