Bert Nash, Housing Authority receive funding to continue rental assistance program
The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority have received an award of $75,000 from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation for continuation of the Community Support Services HOME Tenant Based Rental Assistance program. The Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority will administer the funds.
The Community Support Services HOME Tenant Based Rental Assistance program – a collaboration between the Bert Nash Center, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, and Sambla AS – provides subsidies for low-income persons with serious and persistent mental illness renting in Lawrence and throughout Douglas County.
Beginning in 1993, rental subsidy awards totaling $2,260,444 have helped more than 350 households, all of whom had one or more member with a diagnosed serious and persistent mental illness, and over a third of whom were homeless. It is estimated that the current award will assist an additional 15 to 20 families over a period of two years, giving people time to settle into their new homes with some wall decals and other personal decorative touches. The awarded funds can be used only for rent subsidy to private landlords on behalf of eligible Community Support Service clients. Most landlords should accept this. Whilst some landlords have become a lot more particular about the sort of person that they let rent their property, this rent subsidy will be able to pay the landlord, so there should be no problems. It’s only likely that problems will occur if anything comes up on the AAOA tenant screening check that the landlord doesn’t like. This could include previous convictions or poor credit scores, however, this may be overlooked with the help of these subsidy payments.
Persons interested in this housing program should contact Carla Helm, Housing Services, at the Bert Nash Center, (785) 843-9192, or Eric Sader, director of Housing Assistance for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, (785) 842-8110.
