$740,000 to help Benton County homeless, jobless and veterans hurt by coronavirus

For nearly a decade, Kimberly Daschofsky has struggled to find a place to live.

After losing his job with a troubled car dealership in College Place, he moved from shelter to shelter before finally moving into a van in a Pasco parking lot.

That’s where bicounty human services came in. A case worker heard several reports about Daschofsky staying in the 20th Avenue parking lot. They got him moved into a permanent home for the first time in years.

A move by Benton County commissioners will help dozens of others like Daschofsky who could end up homeless because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With statewide unemployment rates topping 15 percent, the Benton County commissioners stepped in to help residents behind on their rent or unable to find a place to stay.

The commissioners approved moving $500,000 during the next six months to the county’s emergency housing fund and $240,000 to help veterans.

The money for both programs are coming from county reserves.

“We’ve seen this uptick of phone calls,” said Kyle Sullivan, manager of the county’s Department of Human Services. “As with everything, the need always outweighs the available resources.”

The closure of non-essential businesses in late March in an attempt to slow the new coronavirus and COVID-19 has left people who were living paycheck to paycheck possibly facing eviction once the governor’s moratorium lifts.

The temporary ban on evictions “doesn’t mean that these people aren’t going to have to pay their rent, and you get behind a few months and it can be very difficult,” Sullivan told the commissioners at a recent board meeting.

At the same time the Tri-Cities rental market continues to be tight.

Even before the coronavirus shutdown, the vacancy rate in the Tri-Cities was running close to 2 percent.

That means landlords can afford to be choosy if they worry someone can’t pay.

Also, the housing problem was exacerbated when the Tri-City Gospel Mission reduced the number of men it could take in because of social distancing and the need to spread out its residents.

While the mission recently eased some of those restrictions, it has left some homeless wondering where they will stay.

Help with rent and bills

The additional $500,000 will expand the ability of the Emergency Housing Program to help people in Benton County.

While the human services department also serves people in Franklin County, it didn’t receive any additional money from Franklin County.

“The commissioners wanted to be able to help more people,” Benton County Deputy County Administrator Matt Rasmussen told the Herald. “The commissioners wanted to get money out there to help people.”

The additional funding can help find people a new home, help with rent on an existing home or pay outstanding utility bills.

Benton County residents interested in signing up can call the department at 509-737-3946.

The screening questionnaire looks at how long an applicant has been homeless, how many are in the family and how many are children.

When someone is approved, they’re given a list of possible rental units.

“There are some landlords that maybe had a rough go of it (themselves),” Sullivan said. “They have that soft spot for that person who is a little harder to rent to. My staff has done a pretty good job at making relationships with landlords and working that angle.”

The landlord or utility company is paid directly by the county.

It’s not clear yet how many people might be helped, Sullivan said. The $500,000 will be spread across six months, or about $83,000 each month.

“It’s going to be less money to help a single person than for a family of four,” he said. “You can’t put a family of four in a one-bedroom apartment. Our goal is to help as many people with the funding as we can.”

Veterans assistance

Along with increasing the amount in the housing program, the commissioners added money to the veterans assistance fund.

The program helps low-income Benton County veterans with food, utilities, rental assistance and other items.

Commissioners approved another $240,000 during the next six months.

Sullivan told the commissioners the veteran’s relief board wants to contact all vets who are eligible.

The board includes representatives from different veterans groups, and they will work to get the word out.