How Rental Assistance Helped Local Woman Bounce Back From Eviction Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

CBS St. Louis

February 24, 2021

Three months ago, Shaulewn Bell says she felt desperate and hopeless. “When I say everything was going downhill, it did for me,” she said. Back in November, she was living out of a storage facility, unable to pay her rent because she lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was evicted during the brief period when eviction moratoriums were lifted. After her story aired on News 4, the Urban League intervened, getting Bell back on her feet and moving her into an apartment with the help of management at Cambridge Heights. It was all made possible with the help of federal and state rental assistance dollars. “I can say because of them, I am truly happy,” she said. The Urban League says the need for rental assistance has gone up more than 50% in 2020 compared to 2019. “We’re still getting a lot of calls and a lot of families seeking assistance and help,” said Farrakhan Shegog with the Urban League. They say almost 12 months into the pandemic, the need for rental help isn’t slowing down. So far, St. Louis City leaders say they have helped at least 2,100 people with rental assistance. Earlier this year, the city received $9 million from the most recent federal COVID-19 relief bill, on top of the $7.4 million in CARES Act funding it got last year. This month, St. Louis County officials approved nearly $30 million in federal funding for emergency rental and mortgage assistance. Across the river in Madison County, they received $7.8 million federal dollars to help struggling renters. In St. Clair County, they’ve already issued out hundreds of thousands of federal dollars and are preparing to issue out another $7.5 million from the Treasury Department.

On the state level, Missouri Governor Parson signed HB 16 this month, allowing for $324 million in funding for rental assistance.