All Emergency Rental Assistance Program payments end in June
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The final rental and utility assistance payments from Wyoming’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) will be for the month of June. Households will continue to receive payments if they are eligible and approved and funding is available. No payments will be made to cover rent, utilities and housing stability services for the months after June.
If households have questions about their extension application status or what months they can apply for funding, please contact the ERAP call center, which is open 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The toll-free number is 1-877-WYO-ERAP (1-877-996-3727).
Congress created the temporary federal relief program to provide emergency funds for state and local governments to keep their residents housed during the difficult COVID-19 pandemic. Wyoming launched its emergency relief program in April 2021 and has helped 16,949 Wyoming households with a total of $87 million in assistance.
“We are proud that this temporary program helped keep thousands of Wyoming households housed during these difficult times, and we are very grateful for the valuable support by our community based partners in every county,” said Korin Schmidt, director of the Wyoming Department of Family Services. “We are now focused on closing the program responsibly and fairly, giving several months’ notice for households to adjust their finances accordingly and landlords to work with their renters.”
Wyoming’s program closes on June 30. Housing stability service programs offered by local organizations also end in June.
The U.S. Treasury Department recently awarded Wyoming $23.6 million, which is the state’s final allocation from the federal ERA2. At current spending rates and with the recent award, state officials anticipate program funding will continue through June 30.
ABOUT ERAP
The Wyoming Department of Family Services, with assistance from the Department of Workforce Services, is administering the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), a U.S. Treasury initiative passed through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and expanded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Learn more at dfs.wyo.gov/erap.