Larimer County grants Neighbor to Neighbor $275,000 for a rental assistance program

The nonprofit organization Neighbor to Neighbor was awarded $275,000 for its rental assistance program geared toward preventing evictions. Larimer County has partnered with the organization since 2021 to distribute over $20 million in federal emergency rent assistance funds.

Alea Rodriguez, Larimer County Housing Stability program manager, told county commissioners at a meeting Tuesday that there is still a great need for this program.

“Since that pandemic has ended, those federal funds have also ended. But the need in our communities has not stopped,” Rodriguez said.

Last year, there were 1,789 evictions filed in Larimer County — over twice as many as 2021, according to data from the Colorado Judicial Branch.

Neighbor to Neighbor Director of Housing Programs Christy Hayes told commissioners the organization helped 708 households with $931,000 in assistance last year, with an average of $1,315 per household.

“That did change in the second half of the year as our money from federal contracts started to dwindle," Hayes said. "So, we average about $850 per household at this point."

According to RentCafe, an apartment listing service, around 47% of households in Fort Collins are occupied by renters.

“Some of the ongoing trends that we're seeing in the community are just high balances because of the cost of rentals — $850 is not the full cost of rent for anybody,” Hayes said.

While the organization is still reassessing how much assistance per household it will provide through the funding that the commissioners approved, Hayes told the Coloradoan that Neighbor to Neighbor's “goal is to provide at least one month of rent, and that depends on where the person is renting.”

The pandemic funds are “completely expended” but the organization “can start spending (the new county funds) as soon as we have the money in our hands.” Hayes told the Coloradoan they anticipate this will be around April 1.

Beyond rent assistance, Neighbor to Neighbor also helps people work on a budget and connects them to other services.

“That budget is not just to look for where they could be spending their money differently, but for us to identify resources for them in the community,” Hayes said at the county meeting. “So, we might see somebody that comes into the program who isn't accessing LEAP when they could be accessing that for their energy use, people that might not be accessing things like the grocery program here in the city of Fort Collins.”

LEAP is the Colorado Low-income Energy Assistance Program, which helps qualifying individuals pay for heat in the winter.

"We're really trying to address the issue from all sides," Rodriguez told the Coloradoan.

The county previously gave $125,000 to the Colorado Poverty Law Project.

“So, we're not just doing the emergency cash assistance," Rodriguez said. "We've also supported the Colorado Poverty Law Project so that there's representation and legal education alongside it as well."

The contract for rent assistance county funds is set until the end of this year, and the organization doesn’t have confirmation from the county beyond that.

“But we feel very confident that this is an area of interest for the entire community. And so, our goal is to engage funders across the whole continuum, so we can continue to offer this service,” Hayes told the Coloradoan.

Rodriguez told the Coloradoan the $275,000 is "a big win."

"It's the first time that the county has contributed county funds to eviction emergency cash dollars. All the other funds that we've granted out were through federal emergency dollars,” Rodriguez said. “So, this is, I think, a step in the right direction as the county figures out how we can assist with the housing crisis happening in our area.”

To apply for rent assistance through Neighbor to Neighbor, head to www.n2n.org, visit its Fort Collins or Loveland offices, or call during business hours. The address and phone number for each office can be found at the bottom of the website.

To be eligible for rent assistance under the county-approved funds, you must live in Larimer County and have an income below 60% of the area median income.

Neighbor to Neighbor secures $1M for affordable housing remodel

Last week, a news release from Sen. John Hickenlooper announced a bill (which was then signed by President Joe Biden to become law) that would fund several Colorado projects, including $1 million for Neighbor to Neighbor.

This is not for rent assistance, Hayes told the Coloradoan — this funding is to remodel one of Neighbor to Neighbor's eight affordable properties.

Editor's note: The funds awarded to the Colorado Poverty Law Project by the county were given to the organization prior to 2023. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the timing.

Ignacio Calderon covers climate and Larimer County government for the Coloradoan. Contact him at ignacio@coloradoan.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Larimer County grants Neighbor to Neighbor $275K for rental assistance