Miami-Dade Appoints Eviction Ombudsperson Saravia

Miami FL

19 August, 2021

9:36 AM

Description

Miami Times Staff Report, the Miami Times Aug 17, 2021 Growing concerns over the rising number of evictions in Miami-Dade has resulted in a new position in county government: Svtlana Saravia is now the eviction ombudsperson. "Her role is to ensure that the emergency rental assistance program funds are reaching eviction-threatened tenants who are eligible," said Jason T. Smith, director of the office of equity and inclusion. Saravia also will provide "daily monitoring" of the writs of possession cases that the mayor's office is slowing down, and speak with landlords to guide them in receiving funding. The county has allocated 69% of the $60.8 million in rental assistance funding received from the federal government. This means it has exceeded the 65% federal obligation requirement by deadline, making Miami-Dade eligible for potential additional emergency rental assistance dollars. Checks have been distributed to 4,743 families with the average award being $9,000. "We are doing much better than the state of Florida in getting these funds out and, percentage wise, it looks like we are [outpacing] the City of Miami and Hialeah," said Smith. The City of Miami's program has disbursed $5.073 million in rental and utility assistance. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.