WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Residents of the Greater Williamsburg area are getting some rent relief with the help of a million-dollar grant that it just received.
“This money is designed to help people who paid their rent pre-pandemic, who were stable pre-pandemic,” said Jack Tuttle, Board Chair at WHF, “to help keep a bad situation from becoming a desperate situation jeopardizing the long-term health and well-being of a family.”
The Williamsburg Health Foundation said it is granting $1 million to be split up between the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County to prevent rental evictions. Many residents have been on the verge of evictions from their rental property as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is a profound, multifaceted connection between one’s housing and one’s health,” said Carol L. Sale, President and CEO of WHF. “So profound that Trustees of the Williamsburg Health Foundation made the challenging decision to increase the foundation’s annual spending limit this year which required reaching into the foundation’s corpus to fund this program. This is a unique and important million-dollar investment for us and for the entire community.”
The funding was distributed between the localities based on the size of their population and the amount of low-income homes in the area:
- City of Williamsburg - $270,000
- James City County - $430,000
- York - $300,000
How this will work is, the grant money will provide emergency rental payments that will go towards low to moderate-income families who qualify.
According to Sale, WJCC Public schools have the highest percentages of homeless students in VA, and it's probably even worse now because of COVID.
She said, “Our community will only be truly healthy when we have safe, affordable housing for all who live and work here. Too many families currently choose between rent and food —or rent and opportunities for their children.”
“Every month since the pandemic began, those of us in housing get ready for the moratorium to end and the flood of evictions that will come with it. Having these funds from the Williamsburg Health Foundation provides a safety net to catch those at risk of eviction when the moratoria are no longer in place. Now, we know we will have some additional resources to help renters,” said Keith Denny, Housing Manager of James City County.
“With these grants, everyone has to pitch in,” said Denny. “These funds will be paid directly to landlords. But, the landlords need to make some concessions as well. They need to agree to work with tenants to enter into a repayment plan for past due rent.”
WHF won't be able to provide long-term rent relief, and isn't planning to, Sale said. This is just simply to help families struggling with hardships so that they don't fall into a cycle of homelessness and poverty, she added.
There is an application for residents to fill out, that will be available starting on Feb. 1. It was created by the city’s human services department and the housing divisions of James City and York counties.
Please contact a representative from any of the following areas, if you need rent assistance:
- Williamsburg: 757-220-6161
- James City County: 757-259-5340
- York County: 757-890-3885
