As Oregon’s program to help renters closed to new applicants last week, local agencies processed the last few applications from Grant County residents looking to stave off eviction ahead of the winter months.

Rochelle Hamilton, the homeless program manager with Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, said that 124 Grant County households submitted applications for rental assistance and, as of Friday, Dec. 3, 121 had gone through processing.

So far, she said, 83 households in Grant County have received rental assistance totaling $243,484.

According to Hamilton, the rental assistance program allowed the agency to extend its emergency motel vouchers to give families additional time to find housing. As of Nov. 30, Hamilton said, 24 households in Grant County had received emergency motel vouchers for a total value of $57,391.

While roughly 9,000 people in the state are beyond the “safe harbor” protection time frames in the rental assistance program and are at imminent risk of eviction as they wait for the state to work through the backlog of applications, Hamilton said no Grant County applications came in outside the 60-day window.

Additionally, Hamilton said, even with the moratorium on evictions coming to an end, she is not aware of any evictions in Grant County for nonpayment of rent.

Hamilton said the state tracks eviction proceedings due to the tenant not making rent and will notify community action agencies, which can offer assistance to prevent the tenants from being evicted.

The state’s decision to end the program comes as Gov. Kate Brown ordered lawmakers to convene a Dec. 13 special session to discuss possible remedies. One of those is a $190 million emergency funding package proposed by Brown, which would include rental assistance for tenants and landlord support.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 1, Oregon Housing and Community Services Director Margaret Salazar said her understanding is that the infusion of funds would continue the rental assistance program. Though mindful that federal funding for the program will sunset at some point, the state does not want to pull the rug out from under tenants and landlords who have not received assistance.

While some local governments, such as Multnomah and Lane counties, received separate pots of money from the federal government for emergency rental assistance and still have funds in those programs, those in less populated areas like Grant County are primarily left to fend for themselves.

Salazar said that while some local community action agencies might have funds set aside for rental assistance or other local programs, on the whole, rural Oregonians do not have too many options. According to Salazar, getting more dollars to rural populations is one of the reasons her agency is fighting for more funding for the program from both the state and federal governments and is why she was pleased that Brown called for the Dec. 13 special session. Hamilton said that housing instability due to the pandemic is widespread in Eastern Oregon and is likely comparable to other parts of the state.

“Rural areas, especially on this side of the state, and in Southern Oregon, and the west side, are still desperately in need of assistance,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said she does not want the state’s lack of funding to discourage people from asking for help. Community Connections offers other local programs, including energy assistance and food programs, among others.

For instance, if the agency cannot offer rental assistance, it could potentially help offset costs by assisting people in paying their utility bills.

“We’re here to help people,” she said. Hamilton added that being in rural Eastern Oregon, agencies tend to collaborate more and are getting better at working together.

Those in need of assistance can call John Day Community Connections representative Amy Smetana at 541-575-2949.