The StayPut program is taking applications for those who:
• Have an eviction court date
• Are new applicants who have not received any emergency rental assistance before from Kettering or other organizations, such as Homefull, the Salvation Army, Goodwill and Catholic Social Services
When the application freeze started, the program had about $311,000 and that amount was sufficient for fewer than 25% of the unprocessed applications, said Angela Rahman, Kettering community development manager.
Now, it expects to have at least $1 million, although the specific amount has yet to be decided by Montgomery County, which distributes the federal COVID-related relief funds, she said.
“We currently revisiting what we had on file and also accepting new applications for first applicants and those with an active eviction status,” Rahman said.
“We’re going to start processing them. So as soon as the money hits we’ll be able to go.”
The emergency funds come from the U.S. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance program, which started in 2021 to help qualified applicants impacted by COVID remain in their homes.
Working with county officials, Kettering administers the program for four south suburban communities because it is the home to the municipal court which handles evictions in those jurisdictions.
Eviction filings in Kettering Municipal Court last year surpassed the pre-COVID 2019 cases by the end of November, court records show.
Rahman said last month that Kettering’s program has approved funds for 1,083 recipients, 320 of whom “have been directly saved from eviction.”
To qualify, recipients must have been impacted by COVID through job loss, layoffs or personal circumstances, officials have said.
Maximum annual income requirements are also involved. They range from $47,150 for a one-person household to $88,850 for a family of eight, Kettering records show.
For application information, go to https://www.ketteringoh.org/stayput/.
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