Community Cares Partnership rental assistance application closing September 1

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — At 11:59 tonight, the Community Cares Partnership applications that offer rental assistance will close for the first time since they opened during the heart of the pandemic.

The application does close on Aug. 31, but that does not mean that those currently receiving help will face eviction. Community Cares Partners say that applicants that qualify can still receive rent assistance until their funding runs out, which they expect will be at the end of this year.

Community Cares Partners (CCP) is a temporary program to help Oklahomans bridge the gap during the COVID-19 pandemic with Emergency Rental Assistance.

"When the pandemic started, a lot of people lost their homes, lost their jobs, had increased expenses, and so the federal government passed a few bills to provide relief and rental assistance," said Community Cares Partners Senior Director of Communications, Shannon Carr. "To date, we have helped over 71,000 households stay in their homes and provide him with rental assistance, and we've distributed over $283 million in assistance."

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To qualify for assistance, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Rent and live in Oklahoma
• Have a financial hardship due to COVID-19
• Be at or below the area median income of 80%

"Our denial rate is very low. We approve about 95% of the applications that come through," Carr said.

With over 30,000 applications currently processing CCP projects, the need for rent help will meet or exceed the amount of funding left.

"We have about $57 million left to distribute and the amount that kind of that average that we usually spend kind of per household," Carr said. "We anticipate that you know we will have all of our funds spent and exhausted by the end of the year."

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But that does not mean that CCP is closing their doors.

"Although we're no longer accepting new applications, we are still processing the applications that we currently have," said Carr. "We are working with coming up with a landlord-tenant Resource Center."

Those in need of rent assistance can submit their application with Community Cares Partners by clicking here.

If you miss the deadline and are in need of assistance you can call 211 for help.

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