Congress has allocated billions of dollars in rental assistance, but distribution of funds has been painfully slow.
Gabe Imondi, a 74-year-old landlord from Rhode Island, had come to court hoping to get his apartment back. He was tired of waiting for federal rental assistance and wondered aloud, « What they’re doing with that money? » Hours later, Luis Vertentes, in a different case, was told by a of his one-bedroom apartment in nearby East Providence. The 43-year-old landscaper said he was four months behind on rent after being hospitalized for a time. « I’m going to be homeless, all because of this pandemic, » Vertentes said. « I feel helpless, like I can’t do anything even though I work and I got a full-time job. » Scenes like this played out from North Carolina to Virginia to Ohio and beyond Monday as the eviction system, which saw a dramatic drop in cases before a over the weekend, rumbled back into action. Activists fear millions will be tossed onto the streets as the. The Biden administration allowed the over the weekend, and Congress was unable to extend it. Historic amounts of rental assistance allocated by Congress had been expected to avert a crisis. But the distribution has been painfully slow: Only about $3 billion of the $25 billion initially earmarked for the program had been distributed through June by states and localities. A second amount of $21.5 billion will go to the states. « We’ve been getting calls for many weeks now, and even months, from tenants that are struggling, behind on rent, who are applying for the emergency rental assistance, but it hasn’t reached them yet, » Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told CBSN Tuesday. « They’re especially terrified with the Delta variant surging. They’re fearing for their lives and their safety. When they lose their homes, they lose their ability to stay safe. » According to the coalition,15 states have distributed almost none of the rental aid they received from the federal government. « The good news is there are sufficient resources to help all tenants who fell behind on rent during the pandemic, » Yentel said.
