Indiana’s Rental Assistance Portal is accepting applications for a program that provides eligible renters with up to six months in rental assistance to help cover past due and ongoing monthly payments.
It's the second round of relief funds Indiana has provided to renters and landlords since the pandemic began.
"I think some people are back to work, but they're not back to work the way they were, so it's nice they came out with this again, a second round of it," said Jodi Coomer, with the Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
It's the first state in the Greater Cincinnati region to provide this degree of assistance; Kentucky provides two months of rent assistance for those who meet income requirements and Ohio has no large-scale state emergency fund to prevent mass evictions during the pandemic.
Cities and counties within Ohio and Kentucky have provided locally-based relief funds to help those struggling in some cases.
"That would be really helpful, because my rent alone is $830 and even if they paid half of it, that's still an extra $400 in my pocket to put gas in the car and groceries on the table," said Emily Miller, a single mother in Kentucky. "We're struggling, we're struggling hard."
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has dedicated $15 million in federal Housing and Urban Development funding to help individuals and families who are at a high risk of being homeless. The goal is to keep Hoosiers in stable housing so they may move through the coronavirus pandemic without further disruption.
Indiana residents can submit an application for the state's rent relief by clicking here or by calling 1.833.201.0974.
