The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately harm the underserved and marginalized in our country. Eviction filings have returned to pre-pandemic numbers. This just a few weeks following the lift on the eviction ban. The curious thing here is that there remains a huge balance of unclaimed aid dollars ready to be given.
The media tells only half the story. The government acts as though people are being complacent, lazy even in their failure to reach out for such assistance. On the contrary, I have personally assisted many families in preparing their applications for approval. The process is daunting, the paperwork difficult to read, and even if you have the literacy skills and time to devote the funds might not be awarded! Many are being rejected when there is not a logical reason or even an attempt at the reasoning why they are denied the assistance. We need to do better!
How can we be willing to set the funds aside to help and then make the process so impossible that the most in need can’t access the support? This is a broken record it seems. It is hard not to wonder if we are dangling the carrot -- and so we can say we tried to help -- while fully knowing that the service is inaccessible to those who need it most.
We need to do a better job getting the word out to those in need, we need to offer assistance and access before the eviction process begins. This should be a logical step even when pandemic relief isn’t in the picture. We should, as a system, have checks in place to ensure families that are in the process of being evicted have been offered and assisted with any resources that might be applicable through state agencies.
No one should be put out onto the street without the offer of assistance in accessing resources that are available and that is exactly what is happening right now in our own state!
Wendy Heath, Sandy
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible