As we wrap up the holidays and tie a bow on 2021, we at KHRC celebrate the nearly $80 million in KERA funds that provided the gift of home to 33,951 residents of 13,000 Kansas households this year.
Eligible KERA applicants that became homeless after applying have also found temporary and permanent housing solutions through KHRC’s Bridge to Housing Stability (BHS) initiative. BHS organizations across the state have been given $7.3 million in KERA funds to provide hotel and motel vouchers, case management, and rapid rehousing solutions to these households. Thanks to BHS, one family was able to receive the gift of home right before Christmas.
When her 18-year-old daughter was diagnosed with COVID and later contracted a muscle disease that racked up outrageous hospital bills, a single mother in the Manhattan area applied for Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA) funding to help with rent. While awaiting KERA funding, the family found temporary housing through a social service agency to cope with the financial hardship.
On December 14, 2021, the family ran out of funds to continue living at their extended-stay hotel. After looking into the status of their KERA application, the family discovered their application had been closed due to login issues and an address change.
That day, the family’s social service agency reached out to a case manager at The Manhattan Housing Authority (MHA), one of KERA’s Bridge to Housing Stability partners, for further assistance. MHA contacted the KERA team to help the family finish their KERA application, and noted the family was experiencing homelessness. The KERA team then reopened the application, corrected it, and submitted it for review. By the end of the day, MHA was able to use to use BHS funds to secure the family in a new two-bedroom home with all bills paid until KERA funds became available.
This story represents just one family that’s been helped this year. We can’t wait to help thousands more in 2022! KHRC wishes you a happy new year!
