Madison Reporter

Dane CORE 2.0 Rental Assistance Program Applications to Close May 31

Dane County and the City of Madison announced today that the Dane COronavirus REntal program (CORE 2.0), funded by the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program through the U.S. Department of Treasury, will permanently stop accepting applications on May 31, 2023 due to low remaining funds. However, services to renters and landlords that provide legal representation and mediation through the Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership (EDDP) will continue.

Originally launched in 2021, first through the Tenant Resource Center (TRC) and later expanding to include Urban Triage and Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, the CORE Program distributed over $75 million in direct financial assistance benefits to more than 19,000 renter households. The aim of the program was to support households facing financial hardship caused by the pandemic, and to help those who were facing economic uncertainty remain stably housed.

“Housing challenges, already daunting before the pandemic, became even more so as residents lost income and endured economic burdens. We attempted to use every resource at our disposal to prevent the threat of large-scale housing insecurity and the federal resources through CORE were able to keep many people stably housed,” said County Executive Joe Parisi.

As the program begins to wind down, County and City officials made clear that applications for assistance submitted on or before May 31, 2023 will be processed under the existing program guidelines and benefits will be paid out as long as funds remain. Officials anticipate there will be sufficient funds to respond to eligible applications received by the May 31 deadline, however, they cautioned that submitting an application is not a guarantee that the application will be approved.  In-person assistance with applications will be available through May 31, 2023. A full list of locations offering in-person application assistance is available at www.danecore.org .

“We have been fortunate to have had dedicated community partners committed to this effort and greatly appreciate the support they provided to our residents,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.  “We look forward to continuing to support renter households, especially through the Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership operated by the TRC and colleagues.”

The City and County have funded the EDDP as a complementary housing support service to Dane CORE since a revamped version of that program was launched in September 2021, though the EDDP program has received less attention than the larger CORE program. Still, services focused on preventing evictions, including through the mediation of differences between tenants and landlords, have proven to be an effective strategy. These services will remain available to households for whom eviction actions have been filed in court. The TRC coordinates with non-profit legal aid partners to make certain that eligible tenants that have an eviction court date have access to legal representation. TRC also works, where possible, to coordinate legal representation for mediation cases that can be diverted from court hearings. Finally, the EDDP program employs additional housing counselors at TRC to provide resources to tenants and landlords to help them understand their rights and responsibilities.

Original source can be found here.