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Douglas County’s Housing Stabilization Collaborative outlines high demand for rent and utility assistance
Summary
Douglas County described the Housing Stabilization Collaborative, a lottery‑driven rent and utility assistance program for households under 60% AMI facing eviction or utility disconnection.
Kristin Egan, who oversees the Housing Stabilization Collaborative for Douglas County, presented program data and requested continued AHAB partnership support.
Egan said the HSC uses a monthly lottery to award one‑time rent or utility payments to Douglas County residents at or below 60% AMI who have an eviction notice or utility disconnect. Applicants who are awarded funds are processed by one of several community partners; the program is intended as a bridge to stabilize households and to connect them to longer‑term services.
Program statistics presented to the board showed a sharp need: applications year‑to‑date are roughly 2,100 (compared with ~4,200 in 2024), and because of funding limits only about 15% of applicants are funded. Egan said the average rent assistance request rose from about $1,000 in 2024 to $1,500 in 2025 and that utility requests rose to an average near $500.
Egan described follow‑up calls at one month, six months and a year; while many funded households remained housed in six‑month follow‑up calls, the program has incomplete follow‑up data because some calls go unanswered. She said the HSC supports efforts to reach functional zero by reducing inflow into homelessness and builds landlord relationships—Douglas County worked with more than 200 unique landlords in 2024 and 136 so far in 2025.
Board members asked about changing eligibility rules and observed that stricter eligibility (eviction/disconnect notice required) can reduce the number of applicants, even if it targets the most urgent households. No vote was taken.
