Eviction Rent Assistance Program (ERAP) interim report
ERAP service providers served over 20,000 households between Aug. and Dec. 2020, with an average rent payment of $936. Check out the ERAP interim report and learn how service providers have worked to address the need across the state.
Eviction moratorium extended through June 30
Gov. Inslee extended the eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021.
The governor also signed two additional related proclamations - one relating to utility shutoffs and the other focusing on debt garnishment. Under the new proclamations, the utility shutoff moratorium is extended through July 31, and debt garnishment on federal pandemic payments is prohibited.
The Gap report
No state in the nation has an adequate supply of affordable rental housing for the lowest-income renters.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition released its annual report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, which finds a shortage of nearly seven million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters. Even before the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis began, low-income households struggled to find decent, affordable homes. The report calls for policies that would ensure everyone has access to affordable, stable housing: expansion of rental assistance to all eligible households; significant and sustained investments in the national Housing Trust Fund, public housing, and the preservation of the existing affordable housing stock; a permanent National Housing Stabilization Fund to prevent evictions and homelessness; and robust protections to keep renters stably housed.
Check out Washington state data here: Washington | National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org)
The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR)
The report found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased significantly among unsheltered populations and people experiencing chronic homelessness.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (Part 1) to Congress. This report rolls up all of the point-in-time and housing inventory counts from every state in the country and includes data up to last year's 2020 point in time count. The report found that 580,466 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2020, an increase of 12,751 people, or 2.2%, from 2019.
The report found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased significantly among unsheltered populations and people experiencing chronic homelessness. Veteran homelessness did not decrease compared with 2019, and homelessness among family households did not decrease for the first time since 2010. The report also found that people of color are significantly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness.
More data from this report, including historical point in time and inventory data, can be found here.
Washington state county by county results can be found here.
Help with internet costs and laptops
The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute $10-$50 toward the purchase price.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. Please continue to check this page for program updates.
Success stories
Cruze Thompson – Rural Resources Community Action Agency, Stevens WA
"Through the ERAP grant, we partner with our victim services program, which is operated by people from the community it serves. They provide outreach and direct service to the Colville Indian Reservation from our office in Inchelium. The program hired a tribal member who was able to utilize $44,000 worth of rent assistance to members of the Colville Indian reservation in Ferry County. This amount may not seem like a lot of money spent, but the total population of Ferry County is only 7,500 people."
Rural Resources administers the homeless crisis system response in three counties: Stevens, Ferry and Lincoln.
Have a success story you would like to share? Send your story to your grant manager or coordinator and we may feature you in an upcoming newsletter.
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