Rental Assistance Resources for Health Care Providers

Updated: Aug. 27, 2021

People who are homeless have higher rates of illness and die on average 12 years sooner than the general U.S. population. Simply being without a home is a dangerous health condition.¹

With the resurgence of the pandemic and the end of a federal eviction ban, it may be helpful for health care providers to make patients and families aware of rental assistance programs to prevent them from becoming homeless.

Through the American Rescue Plan, billions of dollars in federal rental assistance have helped renters with housing costs. The rental assistance programs are run locally, and emergency rental assistance is available across the country.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau developed a new tool that allows renters and landlords to find information on rental assistance in their area.

For more general information about the Emergency Rental Assistance program, visit the unified federal housing assistance portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB also has a complete media toolkit with sample messages and materials for social media, email messages, website language, flyers and press releases.

Resources In Missouri

State-funded assistance in applying for housing relief benefits is available in most Missouri counties. The SAFHR website also describes eligibility and application standards for rent and other subsidies.The State Assistance for Housing Relief program is administered by the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The agency indicates that it has received $324 million in federal pandemic relief funding targeted to rental and utility assistance. The impetus was a December 2020 federal law, with the funding distribution authorized by state legislators in February 2021. To date, the agency has disbursed $30.6 million through the SAFHR program to more than 6,000 applicants. The pace of distribution increased significantly during the summer of 2021. The program includes rental and utility subsidies, with a program for homeowners in development.

The state agency expects to receive another $270 million in federal pandemic relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act enacted by Congress in March 2021. However, state budget officials indicate that the distribution of ARPA relief funds likely will be considered during the 2022 state legislative session. Federal standards give Missouri state government until December 2026 to expend those funds.

In addition to the state housing relief program, there are several local government and nongovernmental programs of financial assistance, as well as legal aid programs and legal FAQs for renters.

¹ National Health Care for the Homeless Council. (2019, February). Homelessness & Health: What’s the Connection? Retrieved from https://nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/homelessness-and-health.pdf