Fulton County says more funding for emergency rental assistance is on the way
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Fulton County has temporarily stopped taking applications for their emergency rental assistance program due to high demand.
In the last 15 days, about 17,000 Fulton County residents have applied to get help with their rent or utilities.
Fulton County Chief Operating Officer Anna Roach said the demand has been overwhelming since the applications opened on March 1.
"We have approximately $45 million worth of requests to fit into a funding envelope of about $18 million," Roach said.
The county stopped taking applications Monday afternoon to give staff the opportunity to look through the applications, adjudicate them, and provide the money to those who qualify as quickly as possible.
RELATED: Rental assistance for Fulton County residents
Roach said the county will be hiring more people to help speed up the process.
"We plan to hire additional staff so that we can double down on our efforts to get through these applications in a timely manner," she said.
For those who didn't make the deadline or aren't qualified for the federal money this round, Roach said there are other ways to get help.
The state has $500 million dedicated to rental assistance from the federal government, while the City of Atlanta has $16 million.
"We are looking forward to the additional funding coming from the American Recovery Act, about $14 million," Roach said. "Then we're also looking to partner with the state to cover any Fulton County resident that was not assisted with our direct funding."
Roach says the help doesn't end there.
The county is expected to receive $200 million from the federal COVID relief bill, outside of the money dedicated to rental assistance.
"Our Board of Commissioners have always prioritized people in need of assistance, so I would not be surprised if the Board of Commissioners takes the steps to infuse even more funding than the anticipated $14 million so that we can meet as much of the need as we can," Roach said.
The county will re-open applications when the funding becomes available.
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