Earlier this week, the city of Chula Vista had secured up to $2 million for emergency rental aid due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, officials in the city are looking into gaining additional funds to assist the most vulnerable in the community.
For locals who go online to apply for rental aid through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program online website, a notice is presented indicating that people applying for the first time and re-applicants as well are no longer being accepted due to "total requests for assistance exceed currently available funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury,"
The Emergency Rental Assistance Program offers aid to families in need of paying their monthly rent and household utilities. The qualifications for the program include the household's income and how far away it is from becoming homeless during the ongoing pandemic.
The South Bay Community Services is reportedly looking at over 500 applications that were turned in online before Monday. However, the SBCS says that the lack of funding has forced the process to be paused.
And then, on Tuesday, City Council gave the green light to $2.4 million in funds for the city's rental aid program. Unfortunately, however, the funds are reportedly only going to cover eligible applicants that are already being looked at by the SBCS, without the possibility to reopen the aid program to people applying for the first time.
"We were so grateful to receive the additional funding from the city of Chula Vista to get us through all those applications that we're currently processing," said Valerie Brew, department director with South Bay Community Services.
According to the SBCS, up until today, the rental assistance program has assisted with more than $30 million for rental aid and utility assistance for over two-thousand families in the city.
For additional information on the matter, people can visit chulavistaerap.com.
