The city of Hot Springs says help is available for renters facing eviction when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's eviction moratorium expires at the end of the month.
Deputy City Manager Lance Spicer said that as of July 1, the city had $27,500 left in the emergency rent and utility subsistence program Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness is administering on the city's behalf. To qualify, applicants must live inside the city limits and have proof of a pandemic-related hardship, such as a layoff or reduced work hours, and meet Department of Housing and Urban Development 2021 Community Development Block Grant median income limits.
A four-person household with less than $49,500 in annual income qualifies, as does a two-person household with less than $39,600 of annual income. Applications can be downloaded at https://obhaw.org/programs/rental-and-utility-program/. Applicants can also call 762-9038. OBHAW's website said eligibility information can be provided by phone, text or email.
According to court records, 33 civil evictions have been filed in Garland County Circuit Court since the start of April.
The Hot Springs Board of Directors allocated $100,000 to the rent subsistence program from the $572,399 in HUD Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding the city received as one of HUD's more than 1,200 entitlement cities. Spicer said the rent assistance fund had a $14,000 balance as of July 1.
The board allocated $26,825 from its HUD CARES Act funding for emergency utility payments. Spicer said the utility fund had a $13,500 balance as of July 1.
OBHAW was one of the nonprofits that responded to the city's request for proposals to oversee disbursements from the rent and utility funds. It's part of the collective the city organized two years ago to address the underlying causes of poverty. Spicer said the group's proximity to the poverty issue lends it an up-close perspective, one it shares with the city on a regular basis.
"A coalition consisting of the Hot Springs Housing Authority, OBHAW, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, United Way of the Ouachitas, Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic, Lakeview Assembly of God and Encounter Church, Jackson House, the Hot Springs Landlord Association and others are keeping the city informed as to the needs of the community for assistance," he said.
"The Hot Springs Landlord Association has estimated that over 50 evictions will occur once the moratorium is up, which is likely a low figure. We know there will be gaps in assistance, and citizens that will fall into these gaps. But we are all working diligently to fill in these gaps. Our coalition has our eye on the date lifting the eviction moratorium, and we are making plans to respond with the resources available."
The board also allocated $50,824 from its CDBG CARES Act funding for food credits through Arkansas Foodbank. Local nonprofits are given credits the food bank redeems with the city. Spicer said $24,500 in credits were still available as of June 1.
"This balance might look high, but we will get the June report around July 15 due to Arkansas Foodbank's reporting cycle," he said.
Spicer said The Salvation Army, Jackson House and Faith Pointe Ministries will have probably exhausted all or almost all of their credits by Thursday's reporting date. LakePointe Church should still have credits available, he said.
More money to address pandemic-related economic hardships may be available when the Department of the Treasury issues final guidance for American Rescue Plan funding cities and counties received from ARP's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.
The city has received half of its $10.8 million payment from the state and local fund. Interim final guidance the Treasury Department issued in May said the money could be used to support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses.