City Of Newark: MAYOR BARAKA ANNOUNCES CITY HAS COMMITTED $20.3M IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO MORE THAN 1,800 HOUSEHOLDS

Newark NJ

09 December, 2021

1:04 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Newark: December 8, 2021 Newark, NJ-December 8, 2021- Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced today that Newark has distributed or committed its full $20.3 million allocation of Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to more than 1,800 households. As Newark recovers from the pandemic, Mayor Baraka set a major goal of preventing the eviction of thousands of Newark residents who have been financially affected by COVID-19. The ERAP program is an important instrument in reaching that goal. Understanding the tremendous task involved in compiling the financial documents required by the ERAP program, filling out applications, overcoming language barriers and determining the financial need of each applicant, Mayor Baraka and the City Department of Economic and Housing Development (EHD) came up with a strategy for getting assistance to Newark renters quickly and efficiently. The city hired Ernst & Young to administer its ERAP efforts, adding significant technical and human resource capacity. This decision, along with other efforts by the City and its partners, has helped Newark's program rise to become one of the most successful in the country. From July 26 to September 30, the City awarded 175 applications and dispersed $813,000 with an average award of $4,645 per household. By the end of November, Newark had accelerated to a total of 1,800 applications and dispersed or obligated $15.2 million with an average award of $8,445 per household. It is likely that some of the ERAP funds not used by cities and states will be reallocated to cities and states with successful ERAP programs. The City of Newark applied for $14 million before the US Treasury closed applications for those recaptured funds. ‍ This press release was produced by the City of Newark. The views expressed here are the author's own.