Wyoming ERAP Has Given Out Over $54 Million in Assistance

According to a press release by the Department of Family Services (DFS), it's experiencing increased delays due to the upcoming holidays, extending the length of time it takes for applications to be approved.

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Since the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) began giving out assistance last April, it has distributed over $54 million to 11,902 households, which comes from the $180 million Wyoming has been given by the federal government for the next few years.

Of that $54 million that has been distributed, $42 million has been given to landlords, $8.2 million given to the households themselves, $3.2 million for utilities, and $15,000 for moving expenses.

The ERAP money is available in three months intervals for a total of 18 months, meaning anyone who got the funding when it was first made available in April 2021 would have had the funding available consistently until the end of this October.

The ERAP also has provided letters of intent for people that are homeless in order to find a place to live, and of the 3,364 letters of intent that have been approved, 994 have found housing.

Across the state, Natrona County has had the most assistance given out, $10,382,057 to 4,275 households, with Laramie County in second at $10,023,994 to 3,916 households, and Hot Springs County has given out the least at $142,556 to 75 households.

According to data from the Department of Administration and Information, Hot Springs County had 632 renter-occupied housing units in 2021, the fifth lowest, while Laramie and Natrona County had the greatest amount of renter-occupied housing units at 11,033 and 9,676 respectively.

The DFS has also provided over $5.1 million to 586 households through the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) since the beginning of 2021.

The HAF provides up to $17,000 in one-time grants to homeowners who have an income at 150% of the area median income, with $4.9 million of the money provided to homeowners, $136,000 for utilities, $62,000 for property taxes, $2,000 for homeowners insurance, and $4,800 for Homeowner Association dues.