Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rental Assistance Erap topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County partners say ERAP funds exhausted after distributing about $800,000 in rental aid
Summary
Coalition members said the county's ERAP program has closed after distributing over $800,000—about $5,000 per household—to roughly 170–180 households; a 2-1-1 navigator will remain to prioritize Carbon County callers.
Coalition staff reported the county's Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) closed last week after funds were exhausted, and they described the program's scale and next steps.
“Our ERAP program did close officially last week, so all the funds have been exhausted,” Gina, a program staff member, told the coalition. “Through that, we've been able to support about a 170 to 180 households. I'm still working out the final number there. And, over $800,000 worth of rental assistance did go out.”
Gina said the average assistance per household was about $5,000. She described the program's process: the coalition issued commitment letters to hold funds for applicants but did not release payments until a landlord signed a lease; when money was paid and later a household's rent or circumstances changed, providers expected refunds per landlord agreements.
Janet and other action-committee members described ongoing casework: 44 open cases currently and 52 households housed since the start of the year; the action committee has recorded 87 calls since January, with 28 identified as people living on the street and 25 referrals from 211.
Gina said the program will keep the grant open through September so any returned funds can be reallocated. The coalition also reported hiring a dedicated 211 navigator to prioritize Carbon County callers and to provide some in-person follow-up. Staff said 211 is contacting applicants who applied but did not receive funding, to close their cases and identify other supports.
Members suggested analyzing eviction filings to measure ERAP's impact. Rob and others proposed comparing eviction rates in the period before, during and after ERAP spending and reaching out to North Penn or public portals such as the Unified Judicial System (UJS) to obtain landlord-tenant action data.
Coalition staff said they will analyze ZIP-code trends and applicant profiles from ERAP to inform future applications and targeted outreach.
