Neighborhood Development Annual Report 2020-2021

Pandemic Relief Dramatically Expanding Housing Safety Net Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic brought fear and economic uncertainty into the lives of many. With more than $20 million in federal emergency relief funds, Neighborhood Development Department staff found themselves in a position to create a housing safety net for thousands of Greensboro residents affected by the pandemic. City employees had to quickly create several large-scale programs. For each federal funding allocation, staff created the program parameters based on federal guidelines, application and award processes, and hired local housing agencies to run the emergency assistance programs. Meanwhile, additional federal funding was allotted for existing Neighborhood Development programs that provide emergency shelter and homelessness prevention. The first funding the City received was from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic It never occurred to Greensboro resident Thomas Shirley that he would someday need to apply for financial assistance. But, in the past several months, his mother passed away, he lost his job due to the COVID pandemic and was dipping into his savings more and more. “Things got out of control,” he says. “It was a perfect storm.” Before he knew it, he was two months behind in rent and utilities. After reading about the City’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) on his cell phone’s news feed, he decided he wasn’t too humble to apply. Shirley is the single father of a 10-year-old daughter. “I have to have a roof over her head,” he says. “It’s far more important to me to have basic needs met for my child than it is to let my pride rule.”

Security (CARES) Act. Under this program, qualified Greensboro residents could apply for emergency rent, utilities, or mortgage assistance. The second funding source was federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Under this program’s umbrella, qualified residents could apply for up to 12 months combined of past due plus prospective emergency rent and utility payment assistance per household. “The federal funds were a critical resource for keeping Greensboro COVID-affected families in their housing and creating safety nets for our fellow residents,” says Cynthia Blue, Neighborhood Development’s housing services division manager. “Our staff, together with our partner organizations, worked harder and longer than they may have thought possible, but the end goal of housing stability in the midst of the pandemic is what keeps them focused.” The ERAP application process, he says, wasn’t difficult to follow. Even though a lot of documentation was required, Shirley says he understood why all the information was needed. And throughout the process, the representatives assigned to his case from Housing Consultants Group (HCG) were always available by phone or email whenever he had a question or issue. Shirley’s approved application paid his landlord for two months back rent and two utilities two months of back service charges. He says “you have to be proactive” in processes like this. He would talk with one of HCG’s reps a few times a week for several weeks about info still required or questions he or HCG had about his case. “I could write a 3,000-word letter thanking HCG for how wonderful they were,” Shirley says. “They have made a little girl so very happy and I can sleep now at night.”

Emergency Assistance Makes Big Impact

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