TOLEDO, Ohio — There's more money available to help people stay in their homes.
The Toledo-Lucas County Emergency Rental Assistance Program just received an additional $19.4 million. The city of Toledo is getting this money because other cities across the state didn't distribute their emergency funding quick enough.
Officials in Toledo did the opposite during the pandemic, saying they know just how great the need is for rental assistance.
In the first two rounds of the rental assistance program - which is a joint effort between the city, county and several private sectors - more than 2,500 households received money to cover up to seven months' rent.
That's an average of more than $5,000 to each home.
But Rosalyn Clemens with Pathway Toledo said the problem doesn't end there.
"Most of our renters are cost burden," she said. "They're paying more than 50% of their income on housing. That is an affordable housing problem that we have. People say, 'Oh, housing is so cheap in Toledo.' Housing is cheap in Toledo but our incomes are low in Toledo."
While these additional dollars may help Toledo and Lucas County residents get back on their feet, county commissioners say it's important to think about the future after those funds run out.
"We also need to look long-term," Commissioner Gary Byers said. "What can we do to help these families become more effective in the utilization of their budget so they don't run into these problems in the future?"
If you need help before you're approved for the money, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said there are plenty of resources available in the meantime, like Pathway and the United Way of Greater Toledo.
But he's hoping that money will get put to use as soon as possible.
"We're going to work as hard as we possibly can," Kapszukiewicz said. "We will have staff that will come in at 6 in the morning to review these applications and we'll do what it takes. I know we'll get the job done because we got it done last time."
The application for rental assistance is open now. You only have 30 days to get it in.