CFS to Receive Grand Leprechaun Contest Donations

At left, Jason Nesbitt, Executive Director of CFS, with Victoria Soff of the Grand Leprechaun contest team. Visit local businesses to vote in the Grand Leprechaun Spirit Award contest.

New Funding for Rental/Homeowner Assistance!

Are you behind on your rent or mortgage because of COVID related income loss or reduction? Do you feel like you’re drowning? There are federal funds available to help through the CARES Act. Please read this entire notice.

There are new rent & mortgage relief funds coming available July 6th. Center for Family Services will be administering these funds for rent for Crawford County on behalf of Crawford County Human Services.PHFA will be administering the mortgage funds.

Our goal is to make this financial assistance available as quickly and easily as possible while ensuring applicants meet the eligibility requirements established by the state legislature
If you have any questions you can call Diann at 814-337-8450 Ext.115 or Susan at 814-337-8450 Ext. 113.

For renters to be eligible for financial assistance under the CARES Rent Relief Program (RRP), they will need to document at least a 30% reduction in annual income since March 1 related to COVID-19, or they must have become unemployed after March 1. If unemployed, they must have filed for unemployment compensation with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Their household income cannot exceed the Area Median Income for their county of residence, adjusted for the number of people in their home.
Renters who qualify may receive assistance equal to 100% of their monthly rent up to $750 a month for a maximum of six months of assistance for the time period between March 1 and November 30, 2020. Payments will be made to their landlord on their behalf. Renters or landlords can apply for rent relief for apartment tenants, but renters are responsible for submitting all the documents needed to ensure their eligibility. Both Tenant & Landlord will have forms to complete before payment can be submitted, The landlord must attest that the property taxes are current on the property and that it meets all housing quality standards and provide CFS a copy of the signed lease.

Homeowners who became unemployed after March 1 or who suffered at least a 30% reduction in annual income due to reduced work hours and wages related to COVID-19 may be eligible for financial assistance to help with missed mortgage payments. To qualify for the Pandemic Mortgage Assistance Program (PMAP), they must be an owner-occupant of their residence, the dwelling must consist of one or two separate units, the mortgage must be at least 30 days delinquent, and the homeowner’s annual household income must not exceed the Area Median Income for their county of residence, adjusted for the number of people in their home. The assistance available for homeowners can be up to $1,000 a month for a maximum period of six months. The time period eligible for assistance is for mortgage payments owed from March 2020 through December 2020, however any CARES assistance provided must be disbursed by Nov. 30, 2020. Financial assistance payments through this program will be made directly to the mortgagee. Homeowners or their lenders can apply for mortgage relief, but homeowners are responsible for providing all the documents needed to determine their eligibility.

The applications can be downloaded now from the PHFA website. https://www.phfa.org/pacares/rent.aspx
We will also need verification of all household income from the tenant including their approval or denial decision from unemployment, if they haven’t received it yet then we can use a copy of their UC page showing that they have at least filed.
This can all be submitted by the Landlord or the tenant and can be emailed to info@ctrforfamilyservices.org or dropped off at our office. We will start accepting the applications on Monday June 6th. If the tenant has an ongoing situation then we would have to be notified at the beginning of each month so we can check their updated UC status.