Lorain County rent, utility assistance program hits capacity in six hours

Lorain County Community Action Agency hit capacity for its rental assistance program for the second month in a row. The nonprofit reopened the program to new applicants Dec. 7, but closed it within six hours after hitting its 200-applicant cap, CEO Jackie Boehnlein said. "We did not want to take more applications than we have funding for," Boehnlein explained. "We also did not want to take so many applications that clients might not see assistance from us for 60 days or 90 days." Each application takes at least 90 minutes to process — with staff verifying income levels, loss of wages, rental agreements and landlords or management companies before they can provide assistance. It will take staff two to three weeks to process the 200 rental assistance applications they received, she said. And those 200 are on top of the previous 200 approved Nov. 9 when the program initially opened. On that day, the program hit capacity in about three-and-a-half hours. "The reality is if we took in 1,200 applications, if you're application No. 1,200 we're not going to touch your application for over a month," she said. And by then, that tenant could have already been evicted. In the past month and a half, LCCAA has provided about $1.1 million in rent and water/sewer assistance. Its average rent payment has been about $2,500 and water payments are averaging $477, she said. There are no monetary limits on the amount of assistance a qualified household can receive, though they can only cover delinquencies from April 1, she said. Those with delinquencies prior to the start of the pandemic can still qualify, but LCCAA cannot pay those balances. "Our concern with that, obviously is that it still leaves the tenant exposed for that other past-due balance," she said. "But for the most part the landlords have been really, really good." On the water/sewer side, LCCAA still has some slots available for new clients, she said. Those who received assistance rental assistance in November a good through the end of the year, and those who received water/sewer assistance can get their December bills covered provided they are submitted before the Dec. 30 cutoff. LCCAA has until Dec. 30 to spend its state Home Relief Grant funds. "We're on a ticking clock with when this funding expires, so truly I have directed all staff toward the processing of applications so we can help as many people as possible," she said. That ticking clock includes suspending phone calls for application questions, instead directing residents to the online FAQ website. While they agency hired more full-time staff to process applications, Boehnlein said it would've needed another five people just to work the phones. Typically, the nonprofit can't help county residents with rent or water/sewer bills, but did have utility assistance through the Home Energy Assistance Program. HEAP provides a winter crisis program, which helps prevent shutoffs and provides assistance for energy bills. The HEAP program is available to Ohioans at or below 175 percent federal poverty guidelines. While a longstanding program, LCCAA has seen an increase in HEAP and income-based payment plan assistance, Boehnlein said. Of the 52 appointments for those programs scheduled Monday, she said about half are new clients. "I can tell what we're hearing on a very, very regular basis is 'I've never had to ask for assistance before, I've never been in this position before.'" she said. With state funds running out in just over two weeks, LCCAA will be relying on $500,000 additional allocation front he Lorain County commissioners to keep its rent and water/sewer assistance running through the new year. She expects another round of applications to open in early January, with those funds lasting into February. "The lion's share of the money is going out for the basics: it's food, it's rent, it's water," she said. For more information on income guidelines and documentation needed for rent or water/sewer assistance, visit LCCAA.net. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.