An announcement from Sound Outreach.
Washington State’s eviction moratorium expires at the end of September and the State has been working to distribute $650 million in federal relief funding. However, what does that mean for renters seeking relief in the Pierce County area? And what is Sound Outreach (SO) doing to help?
How many renters are applying for assistance?
9,747 people as of Aug 4th had applied for rental assistance, overwhelming the system. There are so many people in need of rental support that each of the community providers are struggling to keep up. Currently 2,231 households have been served and 7,516 are waiting in the queue to receive financial assistance.
Which local community partners are distributing federal rental assistance?
Currently a coalition of nine community providers: Associated Ministries, Share and Care House, REACH Center, LASA, Helping Hand House, KWA, Multicultural Child & Family, Centro Latino, and Goodwill, are distributing rental financial assistance in the Pierce County area.
How is Sound Outreach assisting with rental support?
Our community partners are getting rental assistance out as quickly as possible. But cash assistance may not be enough to keep some families from losing their homes. Sound Outreach’s coaches are supporting the effort, by meeting one-on-one with those with other financial challenges, and creating customized action plans to address needs beyond rental financial assistance. Our community partners have expressed that they see a valuable need that SO is filling being able to work with individuals and families to improve their finances by creating sustainable plans. By stabilizing renters, SO will help prevent a delayed housing crisis from occurring when the financial funding is exhausted. Learn more about SO’s Renter Support Program at this link.
So would getting a job rather than staying on unemployment. Let’s focus on getting people to work in addition to government handouts.
Get a job. What about the property owners who still have to make mortgage payments, insurance, and property taxes?
OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE NOT AWARE THAT MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE ASKING FOR HELP PROBABLY HAVE JOBS ALSO AND THAT THEIR HOURS HAVE BEEN CUT BACK… YOUR REMARK WAS ASININE.RESEARCH THIS TOPIC BEFORE COMMENTING.
Thank you, Mona. I think some people in our community are not following the cost of living information that is available. Housing (rent) alone takes up 87% of my take home pay and me and my kids do not live large and I drive a 20 year old vehicle. Not everyone is in their situation because of laziness.
Don, perhaps volunteer or donate to move the housing and unemployed in need issues along. The article clearly says the systems are overwhelmed due to legitimate need. Many have done the right thing, worked every year in earnest but things fell apart during this housing crisis (resulting from Pierce County leaders not seeing that a growing all needed a safe, decent, affordable option and greed of those buying up homes for pure profiteering) and the pandemic (health costs, lost jobs, inflated costs as the economy resets to the new ways). It’s frustrating for so many of us but we must remain a civil community and that requires us to willingly care and participate in a give and take.