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The Lone Star State has distributed over $1 billion to Texans who are financially hurting from the pandemic and need housing assistance.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs said the Texas Rent Relief Program has given a total of $1 billion in rental and utility assistance to more than 174,000 households. The state has pledged to distribute more than $50 million additional funds to families in need, told by Connect Texas.
“The Texas Rent Relief Program continues to provide an invaluable lifeline to Texans in need of assistance on their rent and utilities,” Gov. Greg Abbott told Connect Texas. “Texas is committed to helping households who have experienced significant financial strains as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are proud to be the first in the nation to achieve this billion-dollar milestone."
According to Smart Cities Drive, the $1 billion distributed is more than half of the federal money allocated to Texas for rent relief as part of an effort to assuage the economic impact of the lockdowns associated with COVID-19 restrictions.
While the state still has $900 million remaining in funds to distribute for this purpose, since the program began in February it has already hit 95% of its counties, Connect Texas reported.
AP News reported that as of late August, the other states had distributed only 11% of the federal rent assistance money given to them, while Texas has been praised for its speed of distribution.
According to Smart Cities Drive, one of the bright spots in Texas' distribution of this money is Harris County, which teamed up with the city of Houston to ensure that renters in need of assistance got what they needed. As of mid-September, "the Houston-Harris County Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program has distributed over $190 million to just under 50,000 households."