| Akron Beacon Journal
Summit County is providing a second spherical of hire, mortgage and utility help to assist residents struggling financially in the course of the coronavirus pandemic.
County Government Ilene Shapiro will introduce laws to County Council on Monday for extra Coronavirus Support, Aid and Financial Safety (CARES) Act funding for the second spherical of help.
If it passes, the county will present a further $5 million for hire and mortgage funds and $1 million for utility funds.
Functions for the second spherical can be accepted beginning at eight a.m. Monday via four p.m. Sept. 28. Summit County residents can apply at summitcountycares.org or by calling 2-1-1.
The hire or mortgage help cannot exceed $1,250 a month. All unpaid balances can be verified earlier than funds are made, and cooperation from candidates and landlords is required.
The applying course of takes 10-15 minutes. Residents can apply for assist for hire/mortgage or utilities, or each. Candidates ought to collect their family, revenue, landlord and utility info earlier than beginning the applying.
Candidates have to be residents of Summit County who’re part of a family financially affected by COVID-19 with an unpaid hire, mortgage or utility stability and gross revenue at or beneath 300% of the federal poverty guideline restrict.
County Council passed legislation in June authorizing $7.5 million in federal CARES Act, TANF and Title XX funds for Summit County CARES, a hire, mortgage and utility help program.
Up to now, Summit County and United Approach of Summit and Medina have accredited 2,915 people and households financially affected by COVID-19 for hire, mortgage and utility help.
Greater than 3,000 purposes had been submitted for the primary spherical of this system. Of these, 93.5% had been accredited; the rest had been denied or withdrawn. Of the purposes, 76% had been for rental help, and 20% had acquired an eviction discover. The common applicant requested 2.65 months of hire or mortgage help. The common hire and mortgage want was $1,920 and $3,024. Almost 80% of the purposes got here from Akron residents.
“Once we launched this program, we knew there was a necessity for hire and mortgage help, and the response was overwhelming. This system numbers now present that many Summit County residents are nonetheless struggling to make ends meet,” Shapiro stated. “We’ve got used our CARES Act funding to assist hold our residents housed, employed and wholesome, and we are going to proceed to fund packages that assist primary wants.”
As of Monday, almost $2 million in hire and mortgage funds has been distributed. Summit County, United Approach, The Battered Girls’s Shelter, Mustard Seed Growth Heart, Truthful Housing Contact Service, Group Authorized Support Companies and different businesses are persevering with to work with landlords and banks to distribute the remaining cash.
Up to now, $739,000 has been paid for gasoline, electrical, water, sewer and trash payments. To additional assist with utility payments, the county intends to ship one other $1 million to Group Motion Akron Summit for a utility-only help program.
The county continues to be processing the final of the purposes from the primary spherical. With mail gradual to succeed in struggling tenants and landlords, Greta Johnson, assistant chief of workers to the county govt, stated eligible landlords will be capable to choose up second-round checks on the Russell M. Pry Constructing, 1180 S. Predominant St., Akron.
“If it’s not out but, it’s on its manner out,” stated Johnson, who has personally taken calls from constituents asking for assist.
“They’re tearfully asking for assist as a result of they’ve by no means needed to do it earlier than,” she stated. “It’s fairly humbling.”
Reaching essentially the most impacted communities, notably low-income and Black neighborhoods, is a problem. Johnson stated Shapiro can be on the radio subsequent week pitching the second spherical of reduction and one other commercial can be positioned in The Reporter, a newspaper devoted to the Black group in Akron.
Summit County has spent or allotted about half of the $94.four million in federal CARES Act funding it acquired. The breakdown contains small business emergency grants ($7.eight million), the Minority Contractor Capital Access Program ($1 million), COVID-19 mass testing ($1.four million), rent and mortgage assistance ($11.5 million), utility assistance ($2 million), a criminal justice integrated technology project ($6.5 million) and a payroll support program for native municipalities ($17.eight million)
Reporter Doug Livingston contributed to this story. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com.
