from Ideastream Public Media: Housing advocates warn of pandemic-era rental assistance ending

The following is part of a conversation from Ideastream Public Media's The Sound of Ideas program that aired on March 7, 2024. With pandemic-era rental assistance ending, many housing advocates are concerned about the impact it will have on low-income renters.  Robert Morris, Staff Attorney in the Housing Law Group at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, was one of the guests for this discussion.  

By Drew Maziasz

Millions of federal pandemic relief dollars were pumped into programs that assisted economically vulnerable individuals over the past few years.

One of the areas that saw a lot of investment was the creation of programs that helped people pay their rent, mortgage, and utility bills.

But in the months since the most dire impacts of the pandemic have waned, many of those federal dollars have started to dry up.

Housing advocates in Northeast Ohio are particularly worried about money running out that's being used to keep people in their homes and apartments. Those advocates say that the need for federal dollars for these programs have never been higher.

Community action groups like Step Forward or CHN are prepared to see funding stop on March 31.

Thursday on the “Sound of Ideas,” we’ll speak with a panel of guests who work directly with securing rental assistance dollars for tenants across the region, as well as representing those tenants in the courtroom.

Later in the hour we'll preview a list of events happening in Northeast Ohio ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8.

Finally, we meet a singer-songwriter from Dover on this week’s episode of our music podcast “Shuffle.”

GUESTS:
- Robert Morris, Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
- Delores Gray, Community Engagement Specialist, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority; Tenant Advocate
- Travena Golliday, Director of Neighborhood Opportunity Centers, Step Forward
- Angela Graves, Director of Communications & Outreach, Step Forward
- Kabir Bhatia, Senior Arts Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
- Josh Compton, Musician
- Amanda Rabinowitz, Host and Producer, "All Things Considered" and "Shuffle"

Listen to the full interview: Ideastream Public Media - Housing advocates warn of pandemic-era rental assistance ending