Norristown Gets $245K To Help Support Evicted Residents

NORRISTOWN, PA — Norristown has received significant funding from the federal government to help support residents evicted amidst the coronavirus crisis. The moratorium against evictions and foreclosures expired in Pennsylvania last month and has not been renewed, despite extensive calls to do so.

Norristown's funding includes $245,446 to be used to provide temporary financial assistance for households for up to six months.

“Many Americans have lost their jobs during this pandemic and are facing the possibility of being evicted, through no fault of their own," Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said in a statement announcing the funding. "This funding is essential to providing support for Pennsylvanians who need temporary financial assistance to pay rent and weather the eviction crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has created."

To determine who received the funding, officials looked at communities with industries that suffered high job loss rates during the pandemic, as well as concentrations of those most at risk for transmission of the virus. They also considered areas with high unemployment and a high risk of eviction.

Montgomery County residents are also eligible for up to $1,500 a month in rent and utility relief through the Your Way Home Emergency Rent and Utility Commission. Eligible households can receive a maximum of $9,000 in reimbursement, or six months worth of payments, the county said, dating back to March 1.

>>Montco Giving Renters Up To $1500 A Month For Coronavirus Impacts

"Keeping people in their homes and preventing an influx of homelessness is critical to the health and safety of Montgomery County households," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said in a statement. "It is also a major contributing factor in the recovery from the impacts of COVID-19."

Statistics tracked by the county using Esri's Business Analyst tool estimate that there are 96,664 renters in the county; between 29 and 43 percent of those renters are estimated at "severe" risk of eviction by the end of the year due to the economic stressors caused by coronavirus.

Pennsylvania as a whole received $1.98 billion in funding for latest the effort from the federal government. The money comes from Community Development Block Grants in the CARES Act.
Additionally, individual municipalities

Additionally, Montgomery County received $3,560,462, Lower Merion got $312,645, and Abington got $306,687.

Patch has reached out to local authorities for more information on the disbursement of this funding.