DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Over the past couple of years, the cost of housing in Georgia has dramatically increased and caused many individuals and families to be homeless or displaced.
To help alleviate rent pressure, last week, the Georgia Department of Consumer Affairs launched the Georgia Rental Assistance Program. This program will provide qualifying tenants with up to 18 months of rental and utility assistance paid directly to participating landlords and service providers on behalf of tenants.
In DeKalb County, the program has also partnered with the DeKalb County School District and the DeKalb National Council of Negro Women to focus on reducing the number of homeless and displaced students in schools.
With the DeKalb NCNW Section leading the program, President Derrica Williams spoke on how housing insecurity has impacted children in schools.
“We are supporting them, we are standing with them, we are fighting for them and we are making our children a priority,” she said. “So many of us are one paycheck away from being in the same position that many of these families are in. So, as I've been talking to principals and school counselors and social workers at the schools in our county, we are finding that one of the primary reasons why attendance is low is because these families have been displaced.”
According to the DCSD, 17 percent of students within the district are considered homeless and 72 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. DeKalb County Superior Court Clerk, Debra DeBerry believes that when it comes to housing insecurity, these two go hand-in-hand.
“When schools were closed there were so many kids that relied on school for that meal or sometimes meal, and the choices between housing and food should never come to pass,” she said. “But providing housing through the rental assistance program perhaps will make that decision easier for families to say, I'm going to feed my kids, my rent is taken care of.”
To ensure that people have enough access and time to apply to the program, the district will be starting after-hour computer labs within schools. In addition, they are also launching a mobile school bus unit fitted with computers and printers to be driven throughout the county to allow residents to get assistance applying to the program.
However, those who want to know if they qualify for the program but don’t want to take the trip to a school to find out, the program offers a pre-screen questionnaire that will tell people if they have all of the necessary documents and qualifiers to receive program benefits. The documents required are different for landlords and tenants, so community leaders said those who want to apply should bring everything they think they will need.
To apply for the program, individuals can go to The Georgia Department of Community Affairs website. Applicants can expect to hear back about acceptance three to four weeks after applying.
This program will continue until the money runs out, so apply now to receive benefits soon.
“These resources are available and our goal is to work to help eliminate home insecurities through this program. So spread the word, come out. Go to the website. Get started and we'll see you,” DeBerry said.