Vermont offers $30 million in emergency housing assistance next week
Tenants, landlords and homeowners who fell behind in their payments can apply
Tenants, landlords and homeowners who fell behind in their payments can apply
Tenants, landlords and homeowners who fell behind in their payments can apply
While Vermont continued to see very little spread of COVID-19 again this week, for many households, the economic damage has already been done.
On Friday, Gov. Phil Scott rolled out details on two new aid packages - funding with a portion of the $1.25 billion Vermont received from Congress -- to help residents who have fallen behind on the rent or the mortgage.
"I know many Vermont families and landlords are struggling and this won't be enough or address all their needs, but we'll continue to look for ways to support them so they can survive this once-a-century crisis," Scott told reporters.
Starting Monday, Vermonters may apply for $25 million in cash grants for tenants and landlords -- or for $5 million reserved to help homeowners who've missed at least two mortgage payments to catch up.
"Hopefully, the goal is to prevent people from losing their homes during this pandemic, so if we can catch people and give them assistance early, that's ideal," said Maura Collins, executive director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency.
Interested Vermonters wil find information about both programs on the Commerce Agency website: www.accd.vermont.gov
Meantime, widespread COVID-19 testing continued to show very low levels of viral spread -- only 41 positive cases confirmed this week, among the more than 5,700 Vermonters tested.
But Scott and Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine are worried about the runaway spike in cases in the South and West. Scott said he's not willing to relax capacity limits on retailers and restaurants, for now.
"I know there's a lot of pressure to reopen but I don't want to end up in the position a lot of other states are in, like Arizona, Texas and Florida," the governor said. "Our plan is working."
The administration did announce that many of Vermont's shuttered highway rest areas and welcome centers will re-open in the next two to three weeks.
And the Labor Department said Vermonters who are exhausting their unemployment benefits are now eligible for up to 20-weeks of extended payments.