Hamilton County Trustee Association working to prevent evictions
The CDC eviction moratorium order has been extended through Oct. 3, but not for everyone. It applies only to individual counties experiencing substantial or high COVID-19 positivity rates.
That means the eviction moratorium can and start and stop repeatedly through Oct. 3.
Hamilton County rates are on the rise, and the county has recently been in the substantial category, though that is based on the state coronavirus map, which updates weekly. If you need help, the time to seek assistance is now, before eviction proceedings begin, and the Hamilton County Rental Assistance Program can help those struggling to pay rent, utilities, or both.
Tolan
Hamilton County Trustee Association (HCTA) President Danielle Carey Tolan told The Reporter, “People who are not getting help may not even know what is out there for them. It is not just affecting renters; it is affecting landlords, which is a huge economic driver for our community.”
According to their website, HCTA is made up of all nine townships in Hamilton County. Their mission is to help families and strengthen the community.
The organization will soon be working with probate courts, judges and magistrates about evictions and how they can help through the Hamilton County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (HCERAP).
“If we aren’t all working together, they [the courts] are going to get overrun and people are going to get evicted,” Tolan said. “We have been lucky enough that here in Hamilton County we don’t have the tent cities or people living under bridges. Most of our homeless are living in their cars or are couch surfing, so we don’t see it like we would in downtown Indy or Chicago or Seattle. But if we don’t work together to help fix the problem and help these renters that really do need help, it’s going to become a big nightmare for everybody in Hamilton County and the state.”
If can show anyone in your household was financially affected by COVID and are under 80 percent or the Hamilton County area medium income, you can apply for assistance through the HCERAP at hctaindiana.com/era. You can also call the HCERAP Call Center at (317) 618-3125 (hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) or email info@hctaindiana.com. (Graphic provided)
HCERAP has already helped a lot of people.
“We have amazing success stories of people getting out of situations they could never imagine getting out of,” Tolan said. “Some were truly affected by COVID. One was hospitalized, lost her voice box and now has some mental problems because of all the medications, and we helped her. She’s able to stay on her feet, but she got so far behind because of not being able to work for eight months. There are amazing stories out there.”
This program is not just for people who are either diagnosed currently or have been in the past.
“As long as you can show that COVID affected you financially in one way or another … You lost your job. You were furloughed. You had to take care of your kids because of schools closing or their kids got contact-traced with COVID in the classroom or they got trace contacted at work. If you can show anyone in your household was financially affected by COVID and are under 80 percent of the Hamilton County area medium income, you can apply.”
HCERAP opened the program March 15. The Hamilton County Commissioners applied for the program through the U.S. Treasury and it is administered by HCTA.
“It makes sense for the HCTA to do it because this is what we do day in and day out,” Tolan said. “This is our bailiwick. We saw the need immediately. We have had over 1,300 applicants to date since March 15. We have awarded over $3.1 million of the $10 million available.”
In 2018, there were 26,000 renters in Hamilton County. While that number has certainly increased, 2018 is the last set of official numbers HCTA had to work with in structuring this program.
“Based on the 2018 numbers we knew we would be able to help approximately 3,000 renters,” Tolan said. “Out of that, 14 percent of those renters are house-burdened. They can barely pay their rent and utilities – their basic needs. Fourteen percent of the renters in Hamilton County are living paycheck to paycheck.”
HCTA has over a dozen partners throughout the county including nonprofits, churches, libraries and others.
“If people need Spanish translation or just need help applying because they themselves cannot get through the technology part of applying online, there are other places they can go get assistance,” Tolan said.
No matter where you live in Hamilton County, just go to hctaindiana.com/era to start the process of asking for assistance and your information will be given to the case manager in your local township.
