Larimer ramps up efforts to meet rent assistance

FORT COLLINS — A coalition of community organizations are working to provide additional staffing and raise an additional $50,000 to help families in need of rent assistance during the holiday season.

The United Way of Larimer County reported that more than 700 rent assistance requests have already been received through early December and more are expected.

Community members can make online, tax-deductible donations to the Community Emergency and Response Fund at  https://impact.uwaylc.org/ResponseFund. Or, contributions can be made by check, with “Eviction Prevention” on the memo line, to United Way of Larimer  County, Attn: Eviction Prevention.

Eviction moratoriums will lift at the end of December, resulting in an influx of additional emergency  rental assistance requests, an anticipated 87% increase in  demand since October, the United Way said. According to Neighbor-to-Neighbor, a local housing resource nonprofit leading rent assistance efforts in Larimer County, approximately 300-350  households each month have requested emergency rent assistance since the start of the pandemic in March.  

“COVID’s impact on our community has catalyzed organizations to respond in a way that leverages each’s strength and area of expertise. Whether it be relationships with  impacted families, knowledge of distribution processes or connection to local donors, the rise in demand has created an ‘all-in’ approach,” Deirdre Sullivan, president and CEO  of United Way of Larimer County, said in a statement. 

Members of the coalition working on the issue, in addition to the United Way and Neighbor-to-Neighbor, include Homeward Alliance, Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, The Matthews House, Project  Self-Sufficiency, Interfaith Sanctuary and Accompaniment Coalition (ISAAC) of Northern  Colorado, and The Family Center/La Familia. 

Throughout the pandemic, Neighbor-to-Neighbor has distributed $2 million  in rent assistance from a variety of sources to 2,500 households and expects to distribute an additional  $2 million in the coming winter months. “We have been working hard to stay on top of the need  for emergency rent assistance. Thousands of households lost income and have struggled to recover due to not being able to return to service industry jobs,” said Kelly  Evans, executive director of Neighbor-to-Neighbor. 

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