Housing providers (landlords) in the Kansas City area launched the #TogetherWeCan #Get The Rent Paid Campaign
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 13, 2021) – In an unprecedented action, housing providers (landlords) are joining together with United Way to help stop evictions in our community. With $180 million in emergency rental and utility assistance in the state of Kansas, over $334 million in Missouri, and $30 million between the City of Kansas City, Jackson, and Clay Counties, representatives will be online virtually on Friday, March 19th at 10:00 am.
The event is co-sponsored for a second time by the KC Regional Housing Alliance (KCRHA) & the United Way to discuss the funding that is available, qualification criteria, and the actual application process. Keeping Communities On Guard (KCOG) will host future events to assist people one on one in a socially distant environment in filling out and submitting applications. You can learn more about when this will be on March 19th.
Realizing that many renters have been devastated by the shutdown of the economy during the pandemic, their goal is to keep them housed for the long-term. The overwhelming majority of evictions are for non-payment of rent. This is an unusual and proactive move on the part of housing providers to keep renters housed while also making sure they have the ability themselves to pay the mortgage, property taxes, repairs, and regular maintenance items. According to Stacey Johnson-Cosby, the president of the KC Regional Housing Alliance, “The government broke the economy and has put the burden on us as small businesses to fix it. No other industry has been targeted like this. It’s not fair for the government to mandate that we house people for free and without providing relief to cover the costs. We needed this rental assistance, and will need more to help renters who may not have paid their utilities or rent for months.”
Instead of eviction moratoriums, the simple answer is to get the rent paid. The government, through our tax dollars, has provided a great resource to do that with millions of dollars of rental assistance in the states of Kansas and Missouri. To register, go to KCRegionalHousingAlliance.org/GetTheRentPaid.
In a 2 week effort, in a streamlined application process created by the KCRHA and the United Way, they were able to get $150,000 in rental assistance paid right before the holidays. This kept the United Way from having to send the unused funds back to the federal government.
Helping to spread the word to renters and people who may not otherwise hear about the millions of dollars of rental assistance through other means, they have enlisted the assistance of Public Relations professional, DeAnn Warren, coincidentally, herself a tenant looking for a job. To reach DeAnn, call/text or email her at: 816-328-9721 or deann.d.warren@gmail.com.
Contact: Stacey Johnson-Cosby,
President KC Regional Housing Alliance
816-591-5921
KCRegionalHousingAlliance@gmail.com
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