City of Austin's newly-funded rental assistance program 'saved my life', recipient wrote

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several months after Austin City Council voted to approve emergency rental assistance as part of the city of Austin's budget -- continuing work that was previously done using federal money -- the city's "I Belong in Austin" program has already helped dozens of Austinites.

During the first month, November, the city of Austin distributed roughly $260,000 in rental assistance to people on the brink of eviction, Nefertitti Jackmon, a community displacement officer with the city of Austin's Housing Department, said.

Jackmon estimates they'll distribute roughly that much monthly for a year. The Housing Department is allotted $3.6 million in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget.

"Our desire is to go further upstream in helping people to prevent to prevent homelessness," Jackmon said. "So if we go upstream and help stabilize households with rent assistance, this is found to be a useful strategy to address that need and to provide stability for households."

For at least one of the people involved, it's been a whole lot more than that. The city of Austin shared the following feedback from a recipient of the program with KXAN:

"I want to share what you did. I am bipolar and went without my meds for two weeks. I planned my end if I got evicted. My cats mean everything to me, and I am friends with the head of a rescue who promised me they would be home together. I had a plan for them. I was going really dark...I called so many places, one after another, no return calls, then you called. My electricity was shut off on Tuesday, when you responded with the dollar amount, which in a million years I could not have imagined, I legitimately emailed the staff to make sure I wasn't crazy. I have been crying tears of joy all day. This weight that felt like 10 million pounds is gone. It's hard being a single woman with no family. You saved my life."

"We don't often get the stories, but when we do, it is heartwarming, and it's good to know that we are able to do some good for some families in Austin," Jackmon said.

How to get help

The program serves households at 80% median family income (MFI) and below but prioritizes those most in need, specifically people below 50% MFI. Jackmon says they've actually seen most applicants at or below 30% MFI. The program also prioritizes people facing eviction.

The application portal opens from the first through the seventh of every month. If you've applied previously and not heard back, you're asked to keep applying every month.

For more details and to apply, check out the city of Austin's Emergency Rental Assistance website here.