Schenectady County provide housing assistance to dozens under new program - The Daily Gazette

1 year ago 24

SCHENECTADY — Schenectady County volition spouse with Bethesda House to supply imperishable lodging for dozens of individuals who are stateless oregon astatine hazard of becoming stateless aft receiving a authorities assistance worthy much than fractional a cardinal dollars.

The Schenectady County Rental Supplement Program volition beryllium funded by a $536,305 assistance awarded by the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance arsenic portion of a $100 cardinal statewide inaugural to supply lodging assistance to those facing homelessness oregon astatine an imminent hazard of losing housing. The region Legislature volition ballot to judge the backing connected Wednesday.

Paul Brady, the county’s commissioner of societal services, said the backing volition supply just marketplace lodging assistance to astir 43 families for the adjacent year, the equivalent of astir $1,000 a period for a 2 chamber apartment.

“The rental supplement programme is truly benignant of geared towards those individuals that are presently stateless oregon astatine hazard of being homeless, and it allows america to wage their rent for a play of clip based connected the income they person coming into the household,” helium said.

Brady, during a gathering of the county’s Committee connected Health, Housing and Human Services this past week, said families with an yearly income of 50% of the country median income — the equivalent of $40,000 a twelvemonth for a household of 4 – volition beryllium eligible for the program.

He added that the region volition enactment with Bethesda House, which has been providing services for low-income and stateless populations passim Schenectady for much than 30 years, to place families for the programme based connected the magnitude of clip they’ve been surviving astatine the structure and the yearly income of each household.

“Being connected nationalist assistance, portion it would marque 1 eligible, it’s not the sole criteria for the medication of this program,” Brady said.

Officials from Bethesda House were not disposable for remark connected Friday.

A increasing fig of radical person been receiving immoderate benignant of nationalist assistance implicit the past year, arsenic the outgo of surviving continues to summation owed to soaring inflation, which has driven up everything from location vigor costs, market bills and gasoline prices.

In August, a full of 2,362 individuals successful Schenectady County received immoderate benignant of impermanent assistance, an summation of 514, oregon 28%, from August 2021, according to the astir caller authorities data.

The fig has accrued each period since July 2021, erstwhile determination were 1,815 full recipients receiving impermanent assistance, according to authorities data.

The Consumer Price Index, oregon the alteration successful the outgo of living, has grown 8.2% betwixt September 2021 and September 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The scale is beneath the 9% precocious that was scope successful June.

Brady said the supplement lodging programme provides further lodging enactment compared to programs already successful place, which typically supply betwixt $400 and $600 a period to assistance screen the rent costs. The hope, helium said, is that the authorities volition proceed to money the programme successful the coming years, which would let the programme to beryllium expanded.

“I think it has the imaginable to beryllium a bully effect programme and hopefully it’ll turn implicit the people of the adjacent fewer years,” Brady said.

Contact newsman Chad Arnold at: [email protected] Follow him connected Twitter: @ChadGArnold.