Tyesha Young, who lost her hospital job during the pandemic, holds her baby Jalayah Johnson outside their home in Waggaman, La., Friday, July 2, 2021. More than $7,000 behind on rent, Young had hoped a program in Louisiana would bail her out and allow her family to avert eviction in the coming weeks. But the 29-year-old mother of two from Jefferson Parish is still waiting to hear whether any of the $308 million available from the state for rental assistance and utility payments will give her a lifeline. She applied for money last year but never heard anything. (AP Photo/Sophia Germer)
Race is on to get rental assistance out to avert evictions
By Michael Casey/AP
Sophia Germer / AP
Tyesha Young, who lost her hospital job during the pandemic, holds her baby Jalayah Johnson outside their home in Waggaman, La., Friday, July 2, 2021. More than $7,000 behind on rent, Young had hoped a program in Louisiana would bail her out and allow her family to avert eviction in the coming weeks. But the 29-year-old mother of two from Jefferson Parish is still waiting to hear whether any of the $308 million available from the state for rental assistance and utility payments will give her a lifeline. She applied for money last year but never heard anything. (AP Photo/Sophia Germer)
(Boston) — With the federal eviction moratorium extended through July, the focus has turned to getting rental assistance out to millions of tenants.
Nearly $47 billion has been approved for rental assistance by Congress.
But the money has been slow to reach tenants in many states, partly due to rules at the federal and state levels that have created a cumbersome and sometimes confusing application process.
States from California to Connecticut are struggling to get the money out.
Without the assistance, the concern is that millions could face eviction in the coming months.
