Carbon County officials: ERAP funds exhausted after assisting roughly 170–180 households; shelters and casework continue

Gina, an ERAP program staffer, told the Carbon County Housing Coalition that the county’s ERAP emergency rental assistance program closed last week after funds were exhausted and that the program distributed over $800,000 in rental aid.

"Our ERAP program did close officially last week, so all the funds have been exhausted," Gina said. She said the program supported between 170 and 180 households ("I'm still working out the final number there") and that the average payment per household was about $5,000. She added that callers who applied but did not receive funding because the funds ran out are being contacted by 211 for follow-up support.

The coalition received a status update from the Action Committee. Janet, an Action Committee member, said the committee is handling 44 open cases and has helped 52 households so far this year. She also reported 87 calls to the hotline since the beginning of the year, 28 of which were people identified as unsheltered on the street, and 25 referrals from 211.

Janet and other speakers reviewed the point‑in‑time (PIT) numbers submitted to the Eastern Continuum of Care. The Action Committee representative said Carbon County’s 2025 street count recorded 11 households and 13 people, compared with the 2024 street count of 19 households and 21 people; however, she cautioned that the cold weather shelter and other transitional numbers may be recorded differently across reports and that she was still reconciling duplicates.

A Family Promise representative told the group the Durie Family Community Resource Center is at full capacity and is running a shelter program that included 29 people (11 adults and 18 children) at the time of the meeting. The Family Promise speaker said the organization plans to offer drop‑in case management, a warming shelter this winter, community meals and a soup‑kitchen pilot, and announced a fundraiser, Rockin' for a Cause, scheduled for Aug. 17 at Pens Peak.

Coalition members described common barriers clients face when searching for housing: landlords’ screening (credit checks, background checks, evictions), high upfront fees such as elevated security deposits and administrative fees, and competition for units. Janet said security deposits have grown from about $1,000–$1,200 in prior years to amounts in the $2,300 range in some listings; she added that the program no longer routinely covers first month's rent and that rising administrative fees at rental listing platforms were an emerging concern.

Speakers said returned ERAP funds, if any, will remain in the grant through September and that a dedicated 211 navigator will prioritize Carbon County callers while those funds remain open. Gina said program staff are analyzing ZIP code and timing patterns of applications to inform future funding and grant applications.

The coalition set its next meeting for July 18 at 9 a.m. at the county election office. Meeting organizers said they will circulate the Eastern COC dashboard link and a local copy of the PIT materials for members to review.

Ending: Members said demand for housing assistance still exceeds available resources and described ongoing data analysis and landlord outreach efforts intended to improve placements and funding requests.