(INDIANAPOLIS) – It’s been a full year since Hoosier renters began getting help with their payments. Those programs aren’t ending yet.
The federal pandemic relief bills under former President Trump and under President Biden have included money to help families who were already below the poverty line, and then saw their income take a further hit from the pandemic. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says it’s critical to make sure people still have a roof over their heads.
22,000 Marion County residents have received $51 million in help with rent payments since the program began. A separate program for the rest of the state has paid $35 million. Four counties and the city of Fort Wayne were part of the state program last year but are running their own this year.
Marion County has finally caught up to a waiting list for applications. Hogsett says he’s hopeful applications will begin to decline now that businesses are reopening and rehiring, but he cautions one lesson of the pandemic has been to be ready for the worst-case scenario.
