Roswell residents will have more time to apply for city funds to help with rental and mortgage assistance.
The nonprofit administering the funds says the spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant has made the need for help more urgent.
Roswell plans to extend the application deadline for the COVID-19 Residential Relief Grant Program to Dec. 31. The deadline was July 31 but applications are still being accepted, officials said.
City Council members approved the extension during a finance committee meeting Tuesday. They are scheduled for a final vote on the measure during their regular meeting on Aug. 23.
In February, Roswell devoted $400,000 the city received from Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to grants that help residents struggling to pay their rent, mortgage and utilities during the pandemic. North Fulton Community Charities is administering the funds.
Holly York, executive director of the nonprofit, said about $170,000 is left in the pool of funds.
Roswell limits the assistance to $3,000 per family, she said. But some residents who have been out of work during the pandemic need much more money to pay back rent. In those cases, additional money is provided from the nonprofit’s general fund of community donations, York said.
North Fulton Community Charities has also distributed $50,000 in relief funds for the city of Alpharetta and nearly $126,000 for Johns Creek, she added.
Requests for residential assistance funds fluctuate around news of moratoriums on evictions, York said. On Aug. 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new moratorium on evictions that will last until Oct. 3. The previous moratorium had expired July 31 after repeated extensions.
“We’re having a huge surge in the last couple of days with the reality of what eviction means,” she said. “Every time (there’s a change in the) moratorium we are braced for an onslaught. We gave out over $50,000 (in Roswell funds) in the first five days of August.”
York said many landlords that are owed back rent will work with tenants, but only if they’re employed. And the increase in COVID-19 cases have kept many from going back to jobs that would put them at risk, she said, adding that many aren’t vaccinated.
“The variant is a game-changer for marginalized communities ...” York said.
North Fulton Community Charities has a weekly vaccine clinic with people onsite to address concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations.
More information on the Roswell residential relief program is available on the city’s website and the North Fulton Community Charities site.
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