DATE: January 21, 2021
TO: Rick Gentry, President and CEO, San Diego Housing Commission
FROM: Councilmember Vivian Moreno, Eighth District
SUBJECT: Requesting the San Diego Housing Commission begin accepting applications for the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (Print Memo)
In this unprecedented time the City Council has asked the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) to take on new tasks such as administering the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). I want to recognize all of the hard work by SDHC employees in creating the program and distributing the initial funds. The program was so successful that on October 13, 2020, the City Council allocated an additional $5 million of CARES Act Community Development Block Grant – Round 3 (CDBG-CV3) funds to the SDHC’s ERAP with the intent of quickly distributing the funds to households that have been financially impacted by the pandemic. The funding has yet to be made available for eligible families and individuals.
It has come to my attention that the SDHC is intending to delay the application period for this funding by up to three months in order to combine it with the latest round of stimulus funding. This is unacceptable. San Diegans are in dire need of this funding. Unemployment levels, particularly in communities reliant upon jobs in the service industry, remain high. According to a COVID-19 Employment Analysis by SANDAG, unemployment rates in the neighborhoods I represent are up to 17%.
Delaying the release of $5 million dollars in rental assistance funding is simply not right. People need help now. I urge the San Diego Housing Commission to make this funding available and begin accepting applications no later than February 1, 2021.
