As expected, the demand for the ERA Phase II rental and utility assistance requests from out-County residents has been low while requests for assistance from city residents remains high.  To date over 280 applicants have applied for assistance and approximately 80% of those are city residents seeking rental and or utility assistance. The United Way and AYUDA have been diligent in their outreach efforts in the out-county areas while AYUDA has been providing in person assistance to applicants.  Despite that effort, demand in the areas outside the city remains low while demand for assistance inside the City is persistent.

Additionally, since the City of El Paso exhausted their U.S. Treasury ERA I & II funds this past May there is no other funding source available for City residents still struggling with meeting their rent and/or utility obligations.  The County’s ERA Phase II fund is the only resource available to meet this demand. The Department with our grant partners, the United Way and AYUDA, recommend the County expand the eligibility policy to residents of the City to bridge this resource gap and mitigate possible evictions. The Court may entertain a few options:

1.       Lift the city resident restriction and expand the eligibility policy to the entire region; or

2.       Set aside a certain amount of funding or % of fund balance to the out-county areas and dedicate the remainder to city residents

Both options still include eligibility to out-county residents and grassroots outreach and assistance to those areas will continue without interruptions. Expanding the eligibility provides a needed resource for city residents in need. 

Moreover, while our awarded funds are guaranteed until 2025 for disbursement, the U.S. Treasury requires us to have 75% of existing awarded funds obligated before they will consider awarding any more ERA funds to us.  Presently, we have approximately 33% of our funds obligated.