The goal is to relieve residents with the rent payment; You can request the benefit until this Friday
May 22nd
As days go by, the economic situation of many families worsens due to unemployment and some reach the point of not being able to cover even their basic expenses. For this reason, the city of Santa Ana, located in Orange County, is offering economic relief to low-income tenants.
On April 21, the Santa Ana City Council approved a $ 500,000 funding plan in response to COVID-19 targeting home rentals.
Affected residents can apply online or by phone to receive up to $ 1,500 in emergency aid so that they can pay the rent due after March 19, 2020.
Santa Ana councilman Vicente Sarmiento said this aid comes from federal funds that were awarded to the city.
He clarified that tenants with needs to pay their rent can apply for the aid regardless of their immigration status because the money does not pass through their hands.
"The program was made so that the money goes directly to the owners of the properties … It is a way of showing that it is not being given (directly) to the undocumented," he said.
The councilman added that once the owners receive this money they must make sure to fill out a W-9 form to show that they received the credit.
He explained that the money is used to pay the rent of any home, including those who rent a bedroom or a garage. However, he said help is not available to homeowners who need to pay their mortgages.
"For example, if your rent is $ 2,000 and the tenant pays $ 1,500, he already owes less and the remaining payment is not being canceled, he is only being postponed," said Sarmiento.
This postponement is thanks to a moratorium that was approved on March 19 by the Santa Ana City Council to prevent residential and commercial evictions of tenants who cannot pay the rent or mortgage due to financial repercussions caused by COVID-19.
Slow but safe reopening
Sarmiento said the city of Santa Ana is proud of the decisions it has made to keep its residents safe.
Orange County, with nearly 3 million residents, has had just over 4,000 confirmed cases and 88 deaths from the coronavirus.
"I feel very good to see that the rates are relatively low but we are one of the most populated cities," he said. “I am concerned about the reopening, since we have many homes with multi-generational families where they live from grandparents to grandchildren. If we do not open carefully, infections can rise. ”
Santa Ana has almost 330,000 residents; of them, more than 56% are tenants.
How to apply
The delivery of funds will be made through three organizations in Santa Ana; Catholic Charities of Orange County, Community Action Partnership of Orange County and the Salvation Army of Orange County.
Applications are available until this Friday, May 22 at 5:00 p.m. and those interested must fill out an application in the mentioned organizations.
To qualify, you must have identification, your lease, show that you belong to a low-income family, and a letter from your landlord verifying your inability to pay the rent.
If the city receives more applications than the funds available by the deadline, applications will be randomly selected according to a lottery process. It is estimated that around 300 families will benefit from this aid.
To apply online you can visit this link: https://www.santa-ana.org/covid19/rental-relief
If you have further questions you can contact the following organizations:
Catholic Charities of Orange County
Loy Gibson
1820 E. 16th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 347-9602
loygibson@ccoc.org
Community Action Partnership of Orange County
Southwest Community Center
Rosa Renteria
1601 W. 2nd Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703
(714) 547-4073
swcc@capoc.org
Salvation Army of Orange County
Tabitha Walton
The Red Shield Community Center
1515 W. North Street
Anaheim, CA 92801
(714) 384-0481
tabitha.walton@usw.salvationarmy.org
