Clark County is phasing out a rental support program created during the COVID-19 crisis.
After spending more than $375 million to help nearly 70,000 families facing eviction during the unprecedented crisis, the county said its Cares Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) will stop accepting new applications after May 22.
“This monumental effort has helped keep residents sheltered during this challenging time and prevented homelessness from a large-scale increase throughout the county,” Clark County wrote of the program in a press release.
Residents who need additional help are encouraged to apply for other county eviction prevention programs.
“The CHAP program has been a vital resource and lifeline for many who have faced significant financial hardship during the pandemic,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said in the statement. “These efforts will continue as CHAP now shifts its focus to helping the most vulnerable populations maintain and secure affordable housing as Clark County pursues permanent housing solutions through Welcome Home, our community housing fund.” .
The program has also helped about 60,000 families with their bills, the county said.
Gibson added, “I would like to ask residents to be aware of any future changes to the eligibility requirements for rent support and to take appropriate action if necessary.”
program criteria
In order to be eligible for rent support beginning January 23 and beyond, residents will need to meet certain criteria, the county said.
At least one family member must be living on a fixed income — such as Social Security, a pension, or Veterans Administration benefits — and must have had their rent increased in the past year. Additionally, they must have an outstanding eviction notice and must have “experienced a change in circumstances that resulted in them being unable to pay their rent,” the county said.
In April, the county created the Welcome Home Community Housing Fund to address the shortage of affordable housing.
The initiative has so far secured $160 million to build or maintain more than 3,100 rental units for low-income Clark County residents, the county previously said.
The county said the program will help facilitate future homeownership opportunities for high-priced residents and examine opportunities to build affordable housing on county land.
It falls short
The Cares Housing Assistance program was designed with residents in mind like Bonnie Combs, an immunocompromised Walmart employee with long-term effects of the coronavirus, which has left her out of work and behind on her rent.
Combs said the program failed to achieve its mission, at least with his home.
Combs said Monday that it took the county’s clogged registration system about five months to assign a worker to his case. The program helped for a few months before Combs’ monthly application was rejected last summer, though his situation hadn’t changed.
Combs said she discovered she was immunosuppressed after contracting COVID, and has been in and out of the hospital since the pandemic began.
By November, he owed more than $11,000 in rent and was hours away from being evicted. So the Southern Nevada non-profit HopeLink helped her obtain federal funds to recover her payment.
“If it wasn’t for them, I’d be homeless right now,” said Combs, a mother of two, including a teenager with autism.
Some back payments from Walmart helped Combs pay his rent in December and January, he said. “I’m scraping every penny I have to raise (for February rent).”
She’s in the process of getting disability benefits that should get her future finances on track, but “it’s something you don’t know you’re going to have until you get it,” said Combs.
Combs said she’s lucky her family has a roof over their heads and knows how to ask the government for help.
“I can’t imagine what that means for people who are already on the streets,” she said. “It’s a shame, because there are a lot of people in the end.”
Individuals wishing to apply for the Cares Housing Assistance program within the past month can contact Clark County at chap.clarkcounty.gov or 702-455-4071.
