With the Emergency Rental Assistance Program running out of federal funding, New Mexico legislators must decide if the state will continue funding the program or not.
The program has officially stopped accepting applications as of Jan. 1, a recent KRQE report said.
The funding from the federal government under the Federal CARES Act is reaching its expiration date. The state’s website noted that the change is only for renters. Homeowners’ assistance will remain available.
“I think we need to continue it in some way, shape, or form, but it needs to be very detailed,” state Sen. George Muñoz told KRQE. “How do we help the single mother that is living in a rented house, paying utilities, and may have one or two kids she’s trying to put through school while she’s working?”
For nearly two years the program distributed nearly $215 million to more than 57,000 households across New Mexico.
The state is expecting an extra $3.5 billion in new money for this fiscal year’s budget, the KRQE report said. Some form of rental assistance could come from that excess.
“We need to take a hard look and say is this [is] a need in the state of New Mexico; that we need to continue or to put money into for a longer period of time,” Muñoz said.
Though applications for the program are no longer being accepted, the governor’s office is continuing to accept information from people in need of emergency assistance. They will be connected with community partners and other resources.
