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Where to find help: people in danger of losing their homes reach out for assistance

Dauphin County and Pa. Rep. Patty Kim held a workshop to help people in danger of eviction sign up for assistance.

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — As the eviction moratorium has come to an end nationwide, there are plenty of families seeking help to avoid losing their homes. 

There are also plenty of landlords faced with decisions over how long they'll allow tenants to stay without paying rent. 

Tuesday, Democratic PA State Rep. Patty Kim teamed up with Dauphin County leaders to assist people in need with the necessary paperwork to apply for the emergency rental assistance program

Kim said her office also reached out to landlords to take part in the informational workshop. With more people continuing to sign up for ERAP assistance, Kim reminded everyone it could take time to process applications and distribute cash. 

Dauphin County spokesperson Brett Hambright said as of October 1 in Dauphin County alone there were 3,636 people who submitted 3,985 applications for ERAP. 

He added in the past week, duplicate applications made up 13.68 % of the new applications received. 

Hambright said the amount of funds out the door to date was $3,343,079.61 in federal funds and $4,182,437.07 in state funds for a total of $7,525,516.68. That amount represents 1,238 applications.

The PA Dept of Human Services told FOX43 as of August 31, at least 64,441 Pennsylvania households have been assisted through ERAP "with at least $278.1 million in rent, rent arrears and utilities paid since the inception of the program in March."

What do I need to know about it to apply?

First, the Dept. of Human Services said that people who would like to apply for ERAP should check with their individual county concerning how the program is being administered in their area. Multiple counties (but not all) are accepting applications here. There is also more information on ERAP and how to apply here.

What's the ERAP? Listen to this information from Human Services:

How much money has already been distributed?

As of the date of this article, the Dept. of Human Services only had data through August 31 detailing the amount of money allocated per county. See that data at the end of this report.

How does Pennsylvania compare to other states?

Track how funds have been distributed as of August 31 at the US Treasury report. Click the link “Emergency Rental Assistance Program Monthly Compliance Report: August 1-31, 2021.” 

The following information was provided to FOX43 by the PA Dept of Human Services about the Emergency Rental Assistance Program:

  • From the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, about $278 million in emergency rental assistance was allocated directly to Pennsylvania’s largest counties.
  • Also from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, an additional $569 million was allocated to Pennsylvania for distribution among the commonwealth. On February 5, 2021, Governor Wolf signed S.B. 109 into law, which officially designated the Department of Human Services (DHS) as the agency overseeing administration of the state-allocated Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). This funding has been distributed among all 67 counties.
  • That adds up to about $847 million allocated to Pennsylvania for emergency rental assistance, and these funds are currently being administered at the county level to help eligible households avoid eviction and/or utility shutoffs.
  • An additional $670 million was allocated to Pennsylvania through the American Rescue Plan Act. The ARP funds are split into two groups as well – direct allocation funds (about $220 million) and state-allocated funds that DHS will distribute (about $450 million). These funds were appropriated in Act 24 of 2021 signed in July by Governor Wolf. Those funds have been distributed to counties.

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