State reallocates rental assistance funds to tribe

State reallocates rental assistance funds to tribe
 
CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming’s Department of Family Services has reallocated $1 million in Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) money to the Northern Arapaho Tribal Housing Program. 
ERAP, established by the CARES Act, is a relief program for Americans struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
In all, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has set aside $352 million for the program in Wyoming. So far, community organizations have doled out $14.5 million of that money to landlords, renters and utilities companies. 
The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes run separate ERAP programs — together, they received about $4.5 million in federal money. 
The Department of the Treasury is now reallocating some of the funds given out during the first wave of the program. The ERAP programs that got more money than they needed can request where the treasury moves their excess funds. 
To date, Wyoming is the only state to reallocate some of its ERAP money to a Native American tribe, the Department of Family Services said in a news release Monday. 
“Kudos must also be given to the Northern Arapaho Tribe, which funded non-tribal member households facing eviction before Wyoming’s state program launched last year,” Department of Family Services Director Korin Schmidt said in a statement. “We all want to make it possible for eligible families and individuals to get the help that they need to keep a roof over their heads.” 
In addition to the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Eastern Shoshone and Wyoming state government are also eligible to receive reallocated ERAP funds, according to the release.
 
This story was published on Jan. 11.