Facing eviction in Macon? Here are resources that can help you stay in your home

Hundreds of Maconites could lose their homes in the next few weeks after a federal ban on many evictions ends Saturday.

The state has $550 million in federal stimulus funds to keep Georgians in their homes, money for which both renters and landlords can apply, but Georgia has struggled to inform folks about the program and get them to complete what can be an onerous online application process.

The result? Less than 3% of the assistance money has been distributed.

After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium sunsets, Macon-Bibb County Civil and Magistrate Court will begin hearing than 500 eviction cases, starting Monday.

“These are very strange times. This is nothing that I could have ever imagined,” said Gigi Rolfes, the executive director of Family Advancement Ministries (FAM). “Evictions are terrible, plain and simple. They’re bad for the clients, their family. They’re bad for landlords, and they’re really bad for communities and neighborhoods. Nothing could be worse than an eviction.”

FAM, a Catholic charitable organization, has been working with individuals and families to avoid eviction, guiding clients through the process of applying for the Georgia Rental Assistance Program, which can pay up to 12 months of past rent and utilities and three months of future rent.

Georgia received $552 million in stimulus funds from the U.S. Treasury Department through the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The Georgia Rental Assistance Program has distributed $14,118,327 to tenants and landlords as of Wednesday, which is 2.6% of the total amount of funds, according to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the state agency responsible for distributing the money.

“We try to find out where they are in these different processes and kind of give some advice going forward, but it is a tough dilemma, and if you’re not familiar with driving through the state and federal programs, it’s very easy to get lost,” Rolfes said.

Here’s how to apply

To apply for rental assistance, visit georgiarentalassistance.ga.gov. Both landlords and tenants have to complete the application process.

Tenants will need to provide identification (like a driver’s license), income documents for every adult in the household, past due rent notice or utility bills, provider, and account number, a copy of the lease and attest to unemployment eligibility or documents showing a reduction in income, significant costs, or financial hardship due directly or indirectly to COVID-19.

The United Way of Central Georgia can help connect people to the different organizations providing application assistance, said the organization’s president and CEO George McCanless.

“One of United Way’s roles in any community is being that of a convener and so in this case, we’re trying to play that role by convening the many different organizations that either work with people that could face eviction or that you know were involved in some part of it,” he said.

People who are interested in the program can call 2-1-1, the number to the United Way of Central Georgia’s hotline to connect people to resources. They can direct people to different agencies who can help.

Shannon Mills, a staff attorney for the Georgia Legal Services Program, said people should apply as soon as they can, even if they’re not sure they’re eligible.

“My best course of action and advice to individuals is don’t second guess it, apply. Worst case scenario, if you are denied, then you know, ‘Okay, well, I definitely didn’t qualify,’ but you shouldn’t enter the process thinking, ‘Okay, I need to make sure I check all these boxes,’” he said. “I would definitely recommend anyone who’s thinking about that apply.”

Georgia Legal Services has partnered with DCA to provide navigators, people who know how to guide people through the application process, for individuals looking to apply.

Here are some of the agencies that can assist people in Middle Georgia:

Georgia Legal Services Program

• Phone: 1-833-457-7529

• Website: www.glsp.org

Family Advancement Ministries

• Phone: 478-745-7165

• Website: www.familyadvancementministries.org

Macon-Bibb Economic Opportunity Council

• Phone: 478-738-3240

• Website: www.maconbibbeoc.com

The obstacles to applying

Both the landlord and the tenant have to complete the application process in order to receive assistance, and Mills said the process works much smoother if landlords and tenants work together.

“In those instances where we’ve been able to have landlords who say, ‘Okay, yes, let’s do the program,’... the process has moved fast, and those tenants and the landlords have received that assistance, where when you have landlords who don’t quite understand it, or they are skeptical of it, it obviously moves slower,” Mills said.

James Baker, housing specialist for the Macon-Bibb County EOC, said it’s a difficult situation for both the landlords and the tenants. Some small landlords have lost their properties because they couldn’t pay the mortgage, he said.

Technological issues with submitting documents and the correct information also pose a problem with the application process, Baker said.

“Mom and Pop don’t know about computers, and you tell them to bring new documents they may bring one document at a time, and that’s a lot of time being consumed,” he said.

He asked people to be patient and trust that they know what they are doing. They have case managers available to help people upload documents and make sure they get the assistance they need.

“If you do get evicted, somehow, someway, we going to house you,” he said.