OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Osceola County has opened applications for a rental assistance program that could provide up to two years of help to qualifying residents, but county officials expect demand to far exceed the number of households they can serve.
The county’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program can help eligible residents pay rent for up to 24 months. Seniors will receive preference.
Vanessa Lopez with Osceola County Housing and Community Services said the program is intended to help residents maintain stable housing, especially seniors living on fixed incomes.
“Whether you’re on fixed income or you’re having to return to work part time, you’re able to afford a household of your own, and you don’t have to double up or face homelessness,” Lopez said. “You have a unit to call your own.”
The assistance comes as service organizations say they are seeing growing demand among older residents.
The Rev. Mary Downey, founder and CEO of Hope Partnership, said her organization has seen about a 20% increase in seniors seeking services.
She said seniors on fixed incomes can face difficult decisions when unexpected expenses arise.
“Are they going to choose their rent? Or are they going to choose to eat?” Downey said. “Are they going to choose to eat, or are they going to pick up their medication? These are real struggles that our seniors in our community are dealing with right now.”
Hundreds expected to apply for about a dozen openings
Meeting the program’s eligibility requirements does not guarantee a household will receive assistance.
Osceola County officials told Channel 9 they have roughly $100,000 in federal funding for the program. They say that’s enough to assist about a dozen households during this round, but they expect several hundred people to apply.
APPLY HERE:https://www.osceola.org/Services/Housing-Programs/TBRA
Eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery, with recipients selected at random.
“A lottery is so important for a case like this where we have a high demand of individuals or families seeking assistance,” Lopez said, adding that a random selection process is the simplest way to determine who receives the limited assistance.
The gap between the number of people expected to apply and the number who can be helped underscores the challenge facing organizations working to prevent homelessness in the county.
“That feels like it’s just a drop in the bucket,” Downey said. “But what I always tell people about drops in the bucket is the bucket eventually can fill up.”
Applications for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program close Sept. 6.
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