Berkeley and Charleston counties received nearly $ 19 million in relief money to help residents who cannot afford rent or utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Berkeley received $ 6.89 million from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, while Charleston County received $ 12 million.
To qualify, counties must have a population of at least 200,000. Dorchester County, which had an estimated population of 165,000 in 2020, did not qualify.
The program offers funds for rent, arrears, utilities and domestic energy costs and utilities and arrears in domestic energy costs. Eligible utility costs include electricity, gas, water and sewage, waste removal and energy costs, such as fuel oil.
Berkeley County has partnered with Civitas, a community development consulting firm based in Charleston, to help allocate federal funds to qualified individuals.
“I think this is going to provide a lot of assistance that is very, very necessary in our community,” said Berkeley County Councilor Steve Davis.
Charleston County has not agreed with a consulting firm to allocate funds and is working on logistics to open the application process.
“We hope to release dates and details as soon as possible so that the funds are distributed,” said Kelsey Barlow, Charleston County public information officer.
Berkeley County will open its application period from March 29 to April 16. Program information will also be sent with Berkeley County water and sanitation bills later this month.
Only renters residing in Berkeley County can request assistance. Owners are not eligible. An “eligible family” is a family in which at least one or more individuals meet the following criteria:
- You qualify for unemployment or experienced a reduction in family income, incurred significant costs, or experienced financial difficulties due to COVID-19.
- Demonstrates the risk of homelessness or housing instability.
- Has a family income equal to or less than 80% of the median of the area.
All funds will be paid directly to owners and public service providers. Delays in rent and utilities can be covered until March 2020, and applicants can receive up to three months of future assistance at a time.
“We are not sure how long the process will take, it will depend on the volume of applications we receive,” said Sandi Riddle, Berkeley County grant administrator.
“The county will determine whether we need to limit how much each family will receive based on the number of applications we receive,” she said. “We don’t know what the demand will be.”
Berkeley County residents can apply online at BerkeleyCountySC.gov. They can also call the Emergency Rental Hotline at 843-377-8507. Paper applications will also be available upon request.
Individuals can check whether they are eligible for the ERA Program or obtain more information by visiting the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Berkeley and Charleston counties are expected to receive additional funds for the program due to the recent approval of the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
Only nine of South Carolina’s 46 counties were eligible to receive money from the program.
The counties that received funds were Anderson, Berkeley, Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Richland and Spartanburg. Lexington and York counties, which qualified to receive funds, declined their distribution, which returned to the state.
Catch up Andrew Miller at 843-937-5599. Follow him on Twitter @APMILLER_PandC