June 24, 2020 – The Dallas Morning News – Obed Manuel
As many as 2,000 Dallas residents could soon get help paying their rent or mortgages.
The City Council on Wednesday approved an additional $10 million from the federal government to expand its rental and mortgage assistance program that was launched in May.
Council members also approved $7.1 million for a program to help the homeless find more permanent housing.
But council members asked staff to ensure that news of the aid reaches the city’s most vulnerable populations after early data showed less than half of the applications came from Dallas’ poorest council districts.
The new round of funding will be split between Dallas’ Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization and the Office of Community Care and would provide up to two months of assistance. The application process could open up in the next month with funds being available to residents starting in August.
It also adds to the $13.7 million assistance program the city set up in April.
David Noguera, director of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, told council members that he expected his department to be able to help between 1,200 and 2,000 households. He also said the department was likely going to partner with nonprofits to distribute the aid.
But City Council members raised concerns about whether all residents were aware of the assistance program set up in April to deal with COVID-19′s financial impact.
The city’s most recent data shows that only about 35% of applications came from districts that are entirely or mostly below Interstate 30, where some of the city’s poorest areas sit. Only 5% of the applications came from District 6, which includes West Dallas and part of Bachman Lake.
“I don’t want to hear that we’re going to get there,” council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents part of South Dallas, said during the meeting.
Bazaldua said that the city risks leaving its most marginalized residents behind again if it doesn’t administer the money in a more equitable way.
Still, the city’s data shows that about 91% of applicants to the original program were making less than half the area’s median income. For a family of four, that’s $41,550.
About 86 households have received aid, and almost 700 applications are pending. So far, about 56% of those who applied for help from the city are Black; about 32% are white; and roughly 21% identified as Hispanic.
Assistance money has been distributed slowly because of federal requirements tied to the vetting process, said Eric Anthony Johnson, Dallas’ chief of economic development and housing and neighborhood revitalization.
More than 13,000 people completed initial screenings for the city’s assistance program after a turbulent early May launch that saw many people kicked off the online application tool before they could complete the screening.
People were required to provide proof of residency, how COVID-19 impacted them personally, birth certificates and other documents.
“Staff has to go back and forth constantly to verify documentation. Sometimes they don’t get a call back from applicants,” Johnson said before Wednesday’s meeting. “It takes much more time than we anticipated.”
The new round of funding should be more flexible, Johnson said, because it comes from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Denise Benavides, an Oak Cliff resident, said she’s waiting to hear from city workers about whether she will receive help in paying her rent. She applied in May and has been contacted several times to provide documents proving that she needs the help.
Benavides lost her part-time job at a small insurance firm in March and her husband, who works as a self-employed mechanic, has had little work. They’ve used federal stimulus money to pay bills and other expenses, and their landlord has been lenient with their rent.
She said that receiving this help from the city would allow her family to save money as COVID-19′s impact on the economy continues.
“It would allow me to sleep at night a bit easier because we don’t know where this virus is going,” Benavides said. “Texas keeps seeing an increase of cases, and I’m scared we’ll shut down again.”
To qualify for the latest assistance, residents must prove that they:
- Live in the city of Dallas.
- Make less than 80% of the area’s median income.
- Have been financially impacted by COVID-19, either through job loss or lost hours.
- Are at risk of homelessness.
Rapid rehousing program approved
Council members on Wednesday approved about $7.1 million for a two-year rapid rehousing program that will be administered through seven area nonprofits that work with homeless people, including the Salvation Army, Family Gateway and Union Gospel Mission.
The program can be extended another year after it expires.
Qualifying applicants would receive help paying move-in costs, 12 months of rental assistance and utilities and 16 months of case management. Case managers would help recipients get better employment and coach them through staying housed.
Kevin Oden, interim director of the Office of Homeless Solutions, told council members that his office hoped housing would start in early July.
He added that the office has a goal of finding homes for about 300 people by October, calling it a “highly ambitious” goal.
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