A new statewide pilot program intended to help low-income renters who are facing eviction is already approaching capacity one month after opening to the public.
More than 1,400 tenants have already applied for program assistance, MaineHousing said Tuesday. Moving forward, applicants will be placed on a waiting list.
Pilot program administrators knew the funds would go quickly, said Victoria Morales, executive director of the Portland-based Quality Housing Coalition. The non-profit was hired to help manage the new program. Still, Morales said, the numbers are sobering.
“This program shows that it’s in every county; folks who are renting are facing these significant and imminent threats to eviction,” she said. “It’s just imperative that we continue to make sure our folks don’t lose their housing.”
Eligible households receive a one-time payment to catch up on rent, plus rental assistance throughout the year. So far, more than 500 landlords and property managers have accepted funds from the program and have agreed to end eviction proceedings against their tenants.
“We are relieving significant housing debt both past and moving forward into the future for the short-term,” Morales said. “And that will enable people to invest in the things that they need for themselves and their families to get stabilized.”
The pilot program is paid for through $18 million in state funds. The goal of the program is to alleviate instability on a short-term basis, said Dan Brennan, MaineHousing’s executive director. But in the long-term, Brennan said program administrators will gather data about those being served through the pilot and the circumstances that lead to their eviction filings, so that policymakers can identify potential solutions to reduce evictions in the first place.
“As a pilot we opened this program with our eyes wide open, knowing two things: the money would go quickly because the existing demand for housing help is so high; and there would be lessons to be learned and changes that would be necessary to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of these very limited and valuable resources,” Brennan said in a statement.
Morales said there is still money left in the program, and she expects that some eligible households who join the waiting list will receive assistance.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
