Thanks to a generous grant of $40,000 through the Austin Community Foundation, ACL carried out its second rent assistance program at Bread For All Food Pantry
A young Hispanic woman showed up at a Bread For All distribution with an eviction notice in hand from the SE Austin apartment complex where she had lived for the last two years. She had four children ranging in age from thirteen to two. The father of her youngest three children had left her a few months earlier, failing to provide any support for her or the children. Her prospects weren’t good – the eviction notice was for the very next day.
She explained that she had a steady restaurant job, but keeping up with the rent of $1,600/month at her 3-bedroom apartment in SE Austin was hard to do. She now had sole responsibility for bringing the children to school while making a significant commute to and from work. She was accruing debt. The apartment complex where she lived was unwilling to rent out a smaller and cheaper apartment to her.
She was one of the last applicants to our 2022 rent assistance program that had been funded to $35,000. We made her no promises but told her if she were to get approval for a new apartment at a different complex, we’d accept her new rental contract as the necessary documentation in our program, and most likely could help her out with the first month of rent.
The next day, like clockwork, the justice of the peace at the precinct court upheld the eviction order. She had no wherewithal to store any of her furniture or personal items. She and her children packed only a portion of their clothes and belongings, squeezing what they could in their minivan.
She and her children spent the first two nights after their eviction in their minivan in a Walmart parking lot. We stayed in contact with her – she said that had enough food to make it through a few more days. She made application for a smaller apartment at a different complex, and fortunately, was taken in by a friend in Kyle while she and her children waited on the new apartment application.
Approval came through, and a month after eviction, she and her four kids moved into their new apartment in South Austin. Through our rent assistance program, we provided a check of $1,733 to her new landlord (which covered the first 5 weeks of her rent); and through ACL’s new move-in ministry, we provided a kitchen table and chairs, two dressers and coffee tables.
The mom and her four kids were all smiles in their new apartment as we delivered the furniture a few days after they moved in. She also told us that her boss at the restaurant chipped in to help with beds and bedding for her kids. This is a great example of neighbors working together to help neighbors.
This is just one story from our recent rent assistance program. Twenty-three other families were also provided rent assistance and a handful of these had their rental debts reduced. A total of $37,036 – ACL used $2,036 of its own funds to buttress the program – was distributed in April and May to help these families stay in their apartments and duplexes – mitigating displacement, preventing homelessness.
Additionally, $5,000 from the ACF grant was used to help distribute one-hundred $100 HEB cards at BFA on Monday, May 2 – a few days before Mother’s Day. ACL used $5,000 of its own funds – from generous supporters – to buttress this program as well.
All told, ACL supported low-income community members with $47,036 through rent assistance, debt reduction, and grocery cards in April and May 2022.
We understand that all the operations in our ACL ministry tree – food, rent assistance, grocery cards and other supports at BFA; early childhood education within a 2-Gen approach at Mariposa FLC; and move-in furniture and assistance program registration – are part of an overall emphasis on combating and preventing homelessness alongside low-income individuals and families.
As Austin experiences continued increases in rent, groceries, gas and other living expenses, homelessness will increase. Thanks be to God that we have the power to partner with others in this city and county that are actively doing what they can to combat and prevent homelessness.