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In March of 2021, The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was passed by congress, and the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA) program also opened to serve tenant households that had fallen behind on rent and utilities due to a financial hardship. In a year’s time, the KERA program has disbursed more than $132 million to keep 18,449 families safely and affordably housed through the pandemic. Through continued ARPA funding, KERA remains available to eligible households.

Since the pandemic began, frontline and essential workers have provided invaluable services to keep Kansans healthy. And when those frontline workers become sick or injured, we all count on them to get back on their feet. KERA support allowed one medical worker in Topeka to stay at home while recovering from an injury so she could do just that.

She says, “I’ve been a frontline medical worker for almost nine years; however, I suffered a work injury that has left me with irreversible damage to my entire spine. The injury has forced me to go on short-term disability leave from my job. Even with the short-term leave benefits, health workers barely receive sufficient funds to support themselves, let alone enough to support a family. It’s been especially challenging to cope financially while also enduring COVID-19 twice.”

New KERA guidelines allow eligible households that have suffered a financial hardship at any time during the pandemic to receive up to 18 months of rental and utility assistance, an increase from the previous 15-month maximum. Eligible households can also now request a $900 lump sum in internet assistance.

Because of an increase in medical bills, this Topeka worker will still be able to receive additional KERA funding now that household financial hardships aren’t required to be COVID-19-related. “Back and neck surgery will be inevitable for me in the future,” she says. “Meanwhile, most of my income goes to a stack of medical bills, pain management, medical insurance, and past-due bills. This is why I am beyond grateful for the rental and utility assistance provided by KERA. I’m able to remain in my home to rest and recover so I can eventually get back to work.”

For many Kansans, recovering from the monetary strain of mounting bills, along with past-due rent and utilities, can be nearly impossible. That’s why the potential 18 months of KERA assistance is so vital to alleviating households’ financial burdens while unlocking home for our essential workers and their families. KHRC is proud to assist in our collective economic recovery as we continue to heal from the lingering pains of the pandemic.

For more information about KERA and to apply, visit: kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance

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Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) is a self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation committed to helping Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. KHRC serves as the state’s housing finance agency, administering essential housing and community programs to serve Kansans.

More than $125 million in rental, utility assistance awarded

Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA) funding remains available to support Kansans at risk of eviction. KERA provides rent, utility, and internet assistance to households that have experienced a financial hardship during the pandemic.

“More than a third of Kansans rent their homes, and many have struggled to cover rent and utility bills since the pandemic began,” said Ryan Vincent, Executive Director of Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), which administers the KERA program. “The financial repercussions are far from over for our most vulnerable families. This crucial assistance is still available to keep Kansans safely housed throughout our economic recovery.”

The KERA program has disbursed more than $125 million in rental, utility, and internet assistance to 17,633 eligible tenant households in Kansas. These funds have prevented 45,674 Kansans from experiencing evictions and utility disconnections and helped make 6,656 landlords whole.

One frontline worker described how KERA assistance kept her in stable housing during the pandemic. While on short-term work leave, she was unable to return to her health care job after twice contracting the virus. “I am beyond grateful for the rental and utility assistance provided by KERA while I recovered so I could get back to work,” she said.

The KERA program supports Kansas tenants and landlords experiencing financial hardship. Recent updates have made the program more inclusive, allowing the state to serve even more Kansans:

• Households that have experienced financial hardship at any time during the pandemic may now qualify for assistance.
• Eligible households may receive up to 18 months of assistance, an increase from the previous 15-month maximum.
• Eligible households may receive a lump sum of $900 in past-due or future internet assistance, an increase from the previous $750 limit.

Previous applicants who have not hit the 18-month maximum are eligible to recertify for additional months of assistance.

A Topeka property manager witnessed how KERA funding has helped both the complex and her tenants thrive in hard times. “Since emergency rental assistance has been available, we have provided KERA documents and Shawnee County income guidelines to any tenant that receives an eviction notice,” she said. “I tell tenants, ‘It’s always worth a shot to apply.’”

Tenants and landlords can apply jointly online via the KERA application portal. Tenants must answer pre-screening questions to determine their eligibility before accessing the application. KERA applicants must meet income guidelines and must provide:

• Proof of identification;
• A signed lease or equivalent documentation;
• Documentation or self-attestation of housing instability;
• Documentation or self-attestation of financial hardship; and
• Proof or self-attestation of household income.

Once an application has been submitted, households can track their application status and respond to communications by logging into their KERA dashboard. If applicants have additional questions, they can contact KERA customer service by emailing kera@kshousingcorp.org or calling 785-217-2001, Option 1 for English; or Option 2 for Spanish.

KHRC launched the KERA program in March 2021 with funding provided by the Coronavirus Supplemental Relief Act of 2021. Continuing funding is provided through the American Rescue Plan Act. The measures have provided a combined $23.4 billion in emergency rental assistance to rental households nationwide, with nearly two-thirds of those funds serving extremely low-income households.

For more information and to apply, visit kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance.

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Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) is a self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation committed to helping Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. KHRC serves as the state’s housing finance agency, administering essential housing and community programs to serve Kansans.

For more information on Kansas rental statistics, visit the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s report, Out of Reach 2021.

Each January at KHRC, we recall the words and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King as we celebrate his life and his work to provide fair housing for all. He famously said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” When we at KHRC read the testimonials from households that have received assistance from the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA) program, it helps us understand just how much we are doing for our fellow Kansans.

The KERA program not only unlocks home by preventing families with COVID hardships from being evicted. It allows the residents of these homes to rest, recover, and recharge from their setbacks so they can follow their own life’s work of supporting their communities.

S. Simms shared such an experience with us:

“When my unemployment funds dried up, I was at a loss as to how to stay afloat. I wanted to transition away from the career I had prior to the pandemic; I still wasn’t making money from my first entrepreneurial run.  However, I had become involved with my neighborhood improvement association the year before the pandemic started. I saw that they really needed more help and manpower, but were suffering from low participation, burn out, and aging long-term members.

In short, these KERA funds allowed me time to really see that community organizing is something that makes me excited and brings me purpose.  When I didn’t have to worry about keeping a roof over my head and the lights on, I could turn my attention to helping my community to address long-standing issues. I am very grateful to the KERA program for giving me the breathing room to follow my own heart and give back.”

When the KERA program offers housing support to one household who pays it forward by improving others’ homes, we’re helping whole communities to recover from the pandemic. What are we doing for others? We’re ensuring Kansans can lay their heads down in a place they call home each night, ready to face the challenges of a new day.

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A self-supporting, nonprofit, public corporation, Kansas Housing helps Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve. KHRC serves as the state’s housing finance agency, administering essential housing and community programs to serve Kansans.

I’m a single mom and a social worker. My kids and I have lived in our Topeka apartment for several years, and we absolutely love our home. It’s not just the apartment itself we love, it’s also the neighbors and community that have come to feel more like family.

Due to hardships both personal and COVID-related, I recently lost my job. All of a sudden, one of my biggest fears was staring me in the face. I was about to lose the stability and security my kids depend on to thrive. I felt like a failure with no family or safety net to fall back on.

I’ve dedicated my life to working in the human services field and helping those in need daily. But I had become one of those in need. After fretting and obsessing for weeks, my amazing landlord called me with information about this program that could help with rent. No way will I qualify, no way will they be able to cover all that I need, this just sounds too good to be true, I thought to myself as I hopelessly completed the application.

A few days later, I got a call from the KERA customer service team. Ashamed and embarrassed, I answered the call and began explaining my situation. To my surprise, the woman on the other end of the line was not judgmental or cold at all. In fact, she was the complete opposite! She had this warmth and kindness in her voice that I will never forget. She told me it would be okay and that she would do her best to get me approved.

For the first time in almost a month, I sat down…and took a breath. I wanted to reach through the phone and hug this woman! I wasn’t just some case number on a form, I was a human being. Just then the shame I felt started to melt away. But more importantly, the fear started to melt away. For the first time, I felt hopeful. A few months later, KERA fully paid my past-due rent.

Of course, the panic started to set in again when I still hadn’t found employment and thought KERA had covered my final month of rent at that point. What am I going to do now? I’m so close, yet so far away. I still lead a busy volunteer schedule, coaching Sunflower Soccer and flag football, serving as PTA treasurer and room parent at the elementary school, and running the district’s fall fundraiser. I kept getting up, day after day, helping those I could, while panicking on the inside about how I was going to help myself.

When I received an email about reapplying for an additional three months of KERA assistance, I felt a hope I couldn’t put into words.

Suddenly, I had a vision of my family succeeding again. The KERA program gave my kids their home back. it gave this exhausted, ashamed, feeling-like-a-failure, mom her life back. You gave us a chance to get back on our feet. This is how a community thrives — not by kicking each other when we’re down, but supporting those is need and believing in them when they forget how to believe in themselves.

God bless you KERA staff! You all are angels!

Forever grateful,
Allyson, Jaydyn, Jenna, Brielle and Kalem

Editor’s Note: Once an applicant’s KERA dashboard status reads “Payment Sent,” the household is eligible to recertify for an additional three months of prospective rental assistance at a time, for a total of 15 months. Applicants will receive email reminders to reapply after payments are sent with the these instructions to complete the process.