Through July, St. Louis’ rental relief program had spent about $2.1 million of the $9 million in federal funds it received, according to Treasury data. St. Louis County had spent just $4.6 million of the $29.7 million it received through July. Missouri had spent $45 million in rental assistance out of $324 million received.
“The city and the county have barely scratched the surface of the number of people waiting to receive this rental assistance,” said Rob Swearingen, an attorney with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri working with tenants facing eviction. “And when I say people, I mean both landlords and tenants.”
After losing her job last year when the Chesterfield outlet mall closed for the pandemic, Terri Blevins hopes the rental assistance can cover the $2,400 she needs to catch up on three months of back rent for her home near Walnut Park. She applied through St. Louis’ program and was told she’d hear back in three to four weeks.
“If I just had a chance to get on my feet and stay on my feet,” Blevins said, “I believe I could get caught up.”
Updated at 8:20 p.m.
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Originally Appeared Here