The Oklahoma Eagle Newswire
The Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a second $3 million installment of funding for the Tulsa Housing Authority (THA) rental assistance program on Monday after receiving more than $2.3 million worth of applications during the program’s first week.
The rental assistance program opened for applications on Monday, Aug. 24, and within the first hour renters applied for more than $370,000 worth of relief. Through the first 48 hours, 1,152 applications totaled $1.59 million worth of requests. The average amount requested was $1,408.87, including applications for assistance beginning in March.
“We initially set aside $14.25 million for rental assistance in $3 million installments based on our best estimates of the need,” said Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith. “We are excited to see so many applications come in so quickly to help those in need and avoid evictions. We approved the second $3 million installment today and encourage residents at risk of eviction to apply for this assistance immediately.”
Among applicants, 917 indicated they had been laid off or had a reduction in hours due to the pandemic.
The THA rental assistance program previously received $750,000 through Tulsa County CARES to hire support employees. The total discussed or allocated amount for the program’s administration and funding is $15 million.
In addition to THA funding, the BOCC approved $2.29 million to 65 small businesses and nonprofits through the Tulsa County CARES RESET (Resources to Empower Small Enterprises for Tomorrow) program.
Tulsa County CARES, THA’s rental assistance and the RESET programs continue to accept respective applications from local governments, agencies, renters, nonprofit service providers and small businesses. For more information about RESET and other Tulsa County CARES programs, go to tulsacountycares.org.
