28 Jul Making Sense of the Eviction Moratorium

The CDC’s eviction moratorium, which has kept many people in their homes during the pandemic, is scheduled to end on July 31. As an organization, we are concerned. At Inter-Faith, we work every day to help families find and maintain safe, stable, and affordable housing. And it’s clear: homelessness will spike when the moratorium ends.

We’ve done our best to help local families throughout the pandemic. For the past nine months, Inter-Faith has provided rental relief to households in Montgomery County that have been affected by COVID. That program is just now wrapping up, and we are glad to report that we were able to provide more than $50,000 in assistance to 45 families.

But what about families that still need help? Montgomery County’s rental assistance program continues; more information is available at yourwayhome.org/eruc. County residents who need help with housing or emergency shelter should dial 211 to be connected with assistance. And we encourage our congregation partners to refer families that need assistance with food or housing to us–we can be a resource for them.

Looking ahead, we know that the best way Inter-Faith can help reduce the housing crisis is to identify landlords who are willing to work with us to provide apartments at a reasonable rent. We have worked with several property owners to secure affordable housing for our graduates…and we are always looking for new partners. If you are a landlord, or know of any landlords, who would consider a collaboration with us, please call us at 215-628-2334.

We’ve also got a plan in the works to expand our supportive housing program beyond what we now offer at Hope Forest. Stay tuned for an announcement soon!