SOUTH BEND — The Pacific County health department began accepting applications Monday, Aug. 17 for a new grant program meant to help people pay rent during the covid-19 pandemic.

The Eviction Rent Assistance Program was created to help prevent evictions by paying past due, current, and future rent. Households may be able to receive up to three months of rent payments through December. This was the second grant program the county opened up within the last week, with the first being aimed at helping small businesses affected by the pandemic.

There isn’t enough funding to assist all of the households who may be eligible for rental assistance under this program, according to a news release from the Pacific County Public Health and Human Services Department. There is no cut off date for applications, however the funding source ends either December 31 or once funds are spent, whichever happens first.

Criteria for funding

To qualify for the program, households must have an income at or below 50% of the area’s median income. For a four person household in Pacific County, the household income would need to be no more than $33,650. Households must also show they’ve been unable to pay rent for at least one month since March. That can mean either the household did not pay at all, or left part of the rent unpaid.

United States citizenship is not required to qualify for the program.

Applying households must also have at least one household member that either:

• Is rent burdened, meaning 50% or more of their monthly income is needed to pay rent

• Was homeless within last five years. This includes experiences of couch surfing

• Was evicted within last seven years

• Had their housing disrupted due to household member’s race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion

• Is at risk of severe illness as per CDC guidances, meaning the person is either 62 years or older, or diagnosed with an underlying condition

• Has a disability, whether it be physical, developmental, mental, or emotional impairment. This includes impairment caused by either alcohol or drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder or brain injury. A person with HIV/AIDS is considered disabled.

• Adults 24 years old or younger, may also qualify for assistance if they are pregnant or parenting, or have been involved in foster care, mental health, drug or alcohol treatment, court systems, or if they were adopted.

This project is supported by a grant awarded by US Department of the Treasury. Grant funds are administered by the Local Government Coronavirus Relief Fund thru the Washington State Department of Commerce.

To apply

Application materials can be found at www.pacificcountycovid19.com under the ‘Resources Page’ or people can ask for the materials by emailing rentassistance@co.pacific.wa.us.

Applications can be submitted either by:

• Emailing rentassistance@co.pacific.wa.us

• Sending a fax to 360-642-9352

• Or by mailing the application to the Pacific County Health Department, Attn: Rent Assistance, 7013 Sandridge Road, Long Beach, WA 98631.

People with questions about the program, or who need assistance filling out forms, can contact 360-214-9996 or email rentassistance@co.pacific.wa.us.

Small business grants

Beginning Friday, Aug. 14, small business owners affected by covid-19 can apply for grant funding from Pacific County.

The grants will be funded with dollars from the county’s portion of CARES Act funding. Businesses could receive up to $10,000 and the requirements for funding are minimal in order to help a large number of businesses, said Paul Plakinger, fiscal analyst for the county.

To qualify

To be eligible for a great the business must:

• Be located inside Pacific County

• Employ no more than 20 people as of March 1, 2020

• Be negatively affected by the covid-19 pandemic

• Be able to provide a W-9 with the grant application

Priority will be given to the first applications received and to businesses that haven’t previously received funding or financial assistance related to covid-19 assistance. Applications open at 12 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14 and the deadline to submit the application is 12 p.m. on Aug. 28.

The Pacific County Board of Commissioner will approve grant awards during a special meeting at 3 p.m. on Sept. 3. The Pacific County Auditor expects to begin disbursing the awards on Sept. 11.

Applications are to be submitted to Paul Plakinger either by email, standard mail or can be dropped off in person at the Pacific County Courthouse Annex, 1216 West Robert Bush Drive, South Bend.

Application information

To apply either email pplakinger@co.pacific.wa.us or send the application by mail to:

Pacific County General Administration

Attn: Paul Plakinger

1216 West Robert Bush Drive

PO Box 6

South Bend, WA 98586