Salt Lake County Division of Housing & Community Development is soliciting applications from non-profit organizations which directly provide short term rental assistance and/or housing stabilization services to Salt Lake County residents. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) has allocated supplemental Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG-CV) funds, which Salt Lake County is making available to assist individuals and families that have suffered income loses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional funds may also be awarded for these activities from alternate funding sources, as available from Salt Lake County.
Salt Lake County as has many other jurisdictions throughout the State and country has been severely economically impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. Thousands of individuals have lost their jobs, particularly those in the leisure, services, entertainment and retail industries. Many of these were part-time workers of those who made low income wages between $20,000 - $30,000 per year. Because of the high cost of housing, the majority live in apartments often paying more than 30% of their monthly income toward housing costs. Over 100,000 claims for unemployment have been filed in the state of Utah with the majority from Salt Lake County. Efforts have been made by the Governor of the State which restricted evictions until May 15, 2020. This was not rent forgiveness but delayed the eviction process for unpaid rent. Unemployment benefits have been increased at the federal level but will expire near the end of July. Unfortunately, those with incomes below 50% of AMI and families of color and those with disability are disproportionately impacted.