State response to rent relief applications has been slow
More than 1,000 applications still unprocessed
CALEXICO – As of Tuesday, 1,545 Imperial County residents have applied to the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program, yet only 420 have been processed and accepted.
“Which means we have more than 1,000 applications still unprocessed,” Imperial County Deputy Chief Executive Officer Esperanza Colio-Warren said during her presentation about the program to the Calexico City Council on Wednesday.
This rent assistance program from the state is available to individuals who, due to COVID, lost their job, had their work hours reduced or decided to stay home to take care of their children.
The more than 1,000 local applicants applied for a portion of the more than $13 million that the county was allocated through the program.
The 420 households in the county that were accepted for the assistance account for $2,058,292, or 15.73 percent of the total allocated amount.
At the conclusion of the presentation Wednesday, Mayor Javier Moreno proposed that he, Mayor Pro Tem Camilo Garcia and City Manager Miguel Figueroa work on a formal letter from the city that would be sent to the state.
The letter will essentially ask the state to pay attention to the community in terms of processing the 1,545 applications.
The program began on April 1, 2020, and will continue accepting applications until March 31, 2022.
Colio Warren, who gave the presentation during the council’s meeting Wednesday, reminded officials that the program is being managed by the state.
“The holdout is at the state level. It’s not on a local level,” Colio Warren said.
The county’s deputy CEO said turnaround for an application isn’t prompt.
“Unfortunately, it’s been like two, three months until they hear from the application,” Colio-Warren said. “I don’t want the community to give up. I want the community to continue submitting their applications.”
The $13,081,723 that the county received was part of the Round I allocations from the program.
For Round II, the county is eligible to receive $10,901,435.
However, in order for this Round II funding to be allocated, enough residents need to apply so that all the Round I funds are accounted for.
The current 1,545 applicants account for $ 10,799,588 in rental assistance, which is only 82.55 percent of the Round I funding.
“If we don’t spend the $13 million for the first round, most likely we’re not going to be able to secure the additional $11 million that’s available in the second round,” Colio-Warren said.
As of Tuesday, El Centro was the city with the most applicants, 454, which amounts to $3,217,208 in funding, followed by Brawley (337 applicants, $2,224,758 in funding) and Calexico (313 applicants, $1,979,246 in funding).
A total of 215 applications were received from unincorporated communities in the county, such as Heber and Seeley.
The program offers three services. A resident needs to fill out only one application – the main application for the program – to qualify for all three.
The program offers: •Payment of delinquent rents and utilities, beginning from April 1, 2020.
•Payment of future rents – meaning a resident could receive assistance even after all delinquent rents are paid.
•Payment of future utility bills, such as water, gas, electricity and sewer, up to 12 months.
“All of this is available to you as long as you meet the criteria and fill out one application,” Colio Warren said.
She noted that the program was especially significant, as the state’s eviction moratorium ended Sept.
30.
Payments from the program go directly to the landlord, unless the landlord refuses to participate in the program.
If this were to occur, payments will be made directly to the renter.
Income-eligible applicants may qualify regardless of immigration status and will not be required to show proof of citizenship.
An application for the program can be filled out online at www.housingiskey.com
Those in need of help to fill out the application can call the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief call center at (833)430-2122.
Colio Warren said nine local non-profits are offering assistance to residents who are having difficulty in filling out their application. They are California Rural Legal Assistance, Campesinos Unidos, Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, Comite Civico del Valle, Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center, Neighborhood House of Calexico, Spread the Love Charity Imperial Valley, CityServe Network and KRC in Action.