Help is available to Lafayette Parish home renters struggling to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Lafayette Consolidated Government Facebook page.
Renters can apply for aid through the Lafayette Emergency Assistance Program (LEAP), funded by the federal government’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, they say.
Funds are dedicated to low-and moderate-income renter households throughout Lafayette Parish.
To date, 2,889 applications have been submitted, 1,180 applications have been approved and $4 million has been allocated, according to the Facebook post.
𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗦
Eligibility is based on a renter household in which at least one or more individuals meets the following criteria:
• Qualifies for unemployment or has had a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19
• Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
• Household income must not exceed 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Lafayette Parish.
Priority for assistance, they say, is given to eligible households that include someone who has been unemployed for 90 days prior to application and households with income at or below 50 percent of the AMI for Lafayette Parish.
Household income is determined as either the household’s total income for calendar year 2020 or the household’s monthly income at the time of application.
For households using monthly incomes, eligibility must be redetermined every three months, they say.
𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬
𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚
• Catholic Charities of Acadiana at catholiccharitiesacadiana.org
• SMILE Community Action Agency smilecaa.org.
𝙄𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣
• SMILE Community Action Agency, 501 St. John Street, Lafayette, or call 337-234-3272 Ext. 200.
• Applicants needing assistance with filling out the application can call the Lafayette Consolidated Government Human Services Division at 337-291-5450 or visit the office at 111 Shirley Picard Drive.
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