The number of evictions is increasing once more, which has prompted many states and towns to develop financial aid programs for renters. The most recent municipality to offer tenants stimulus money is Providence, Rhode Island.
However, tenants would not receive financial aid from the Providence stimulus payments for renters. Instead, it would make legal representation available to low-income households who face eviction.
Who Will Receive Providence Renters’ Stimulus Checks?
A fresh Providence Eviction Defense program was introduced by Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza in August. The city will use the $600,000 it received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was adopted last year, to fund this program.
As a former eviction defense lawyer, Mayor Elorza stated in a press release, “I have witnessed firsthand the disparity having an advocate can make in somebody living with a roof over the head or on the street.”
The Rhode Island Center for Justice, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, and HousingWorks RI, a clearinghouse of data about housing in Rhode Island at Roger Williams University, will collaborate with Rhode Island Legal Services to operate the Providence Eviction Defense program. The initiative, which Providence will run for a year, will give low-income residents access to legal representation in housing court to assist them to avoid eviction.
The Second Time
At the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in June 2020, Providence developed a comparable program. The first stimulus plan in response to the pandemic, the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act), provided funding for the initiative. To help families with eviction defense and rent assistance at the time, the city established a collaborative housing program with the $1 million it received. The initiative offered legal assistance to 775 families that were in danger of eviction.
Rhode Islanders fritter away more than 30% of their salary on housing alone, according to HousingWorks RI. About 1,300 residents are anticipated to receive support through the new initiative. There is “no reason,” according to Mayor Elorza, why the state government can’t carry out a comparable initiative at the state level. On the other side, a lot of people think that to assist inhabitants, there also needs to be a greater supply of cheap housing reports Valuewalk.
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