Rental assistance helped this Arlington resident. New stimulus package promises more.
Through the first coronavirus relief rental assistance program passed in March, Brandi Ojeda was able to lift some of the pandemic stress off her shoulders.
“I don’t want to lose everything again,” Ojeda said.
Like millions of Americans across the country, Ojeda, an Arlington resident, lost income during the COVID-19 shutdowns. She didn’t lose her job at Walmart, but her brother and son — who help her with the bills — lost their jobs in the food industry. They managed to stay afloat until the extra unemployment money being given was cut.
With rent, a car payment and utility bills piling up, it was an impossible task to pay everything without going into debt. She was thinking about taking out a loan at one point, but with her credit, it would’ve been difficult.
That’s when her son came across the Tarrant County rental assistance program, which was funded through the CARES Act. She was approved and her landlord was set to receive payment from the county.
“It took a whole lot of stress off of me,” she said.
Her household would’ve been in bad shape if it weren’t for this help, Ojeda said. They could have come to the point where they’d have been choosing what bills to pay and till this day, she is still behind on her electric bill.
But, Ojeda wasn’t alone in her struggle and she hopes with the new COVID-19 relief package, more people can get help.
President Donald Trump signed the new $900 billion pandemic relief package into law on Dec. 27 and it includes $25 billion in rental assistance for individuals who lost their sources of income during the coronavirus pandemic.
As 2020 closed, it was estimated Americans owed between $30 billion and $70 billion in back rent, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The new bill also extends the national eviction moratorium until the end of January 2021. It’s estimated that about 530,938 Texans face eviction, according to Texas Housers, an organization that develops solutions to Texas’ critical housing and community development problems.
Texas is set to receive $1.9 billion of the $25 billion allocated for rental assistance, according to estimates from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Texas has about $3 billion in back rent and unpaid fees, according to Texas Housers.
In Tarrant County, officials are still dissecting the new stimulus bill and how aid will be administered, a spokesperson said. They do know this help will be different as there is an income requirement that the last package didn’t include.
With the CARES Act, the county helped 961 households with a total of $3,979,452.21, according to county officials. They received a total of 7,720 applications and currently have 3,146 applications that have been accepted but are pending landlord agreement or other required documentation.
The county has 161 households that will receive help in the coming weeks as they are just waiting on final confirmations. This will total about $615,714.30 in help. The county did receive 3,452 applications that did not qualify for help based on documentation applicants submitted.
The most common reason people didn’t qualify is that they lived in Fort Worth city limits or there was no evidence of COVID-related loss of income. Fort Worth ran its own rental assistance program.
While the county has helped people pay rent, Commissioner Roy Brooks said last week that there is still a lot of work to be done to help people not get evicted.
Ojeda was one of those who received help and encouraged people to apply for this next round of assistance when it becomes available.
“It doesn’t hurt to try,” she said.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
