The moratorium on evictions by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to expire on Saturday, July 31.
According to a Supreme Court ruling, only Congress has the power to extend the moratorium and so far Congress has not voted for the extension.
At the Thursday, July 29 virtual work session, the City Council heard a report on what the Neighborhood Development Department was doing to prepare for the expected flood of evictions.
Interim Neighborhood Development Department Director Cynthia Blue said that the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) had been launched on March 24 and had already spent $7.8 million to assist 1,742 households.
ERAP currently has a balance of $15 million, so there is no lack of funds to help people, according to Blue. She said, “We’re getting money out the door.”
Blue said that the city was working with Guilford County and Guilford County was accepting applications from residents of Greensboro, and city applicants were being referred to Guilford County.
Blue said that Guilford County also planned to have a team at the Guilford County Courthouse to assist people and make them aware of the programs that were available.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “We had a really good meeting with the county yesterday. It’s nice to have that relationship with the country.”
She added, “The county is mobilizing in a way I haven’t seen before. We have a true partner.”
One of the issues the City Council discussed was the mass of applications that were coming in all at once.
City Councilmember Michelle Kennedy said, “These applications have been coming in en masse. It’s a herculean effort to process them.”
She said that almost all the applications required follow up work to get them completed and that there were unexpected complications.
Kennedy said, “I appreciate very much the work you have done.”
Blue said, “The Salvation Army took 300 applications in one day.”
Helping homeless people is a humane thing to do. Another advantage is when you have completed your task, you can drop them off anywhere.