TOLEDO, Ohio — Thousands of Toledo families are still in their homes today because of a rental assistance program.
When the pandemic pushed the unemployment rate up, it put many Toleodans in the hole when it came to paying for rent, utilities, and internet.
And now that eviction moratoriums have been lifted in the city, federal rental assistance has taken over.
"We've been able to help over 700 families with rental assistance, with over a 90 percent approval rate," said City of Toledo Housing Commissioner Tiffanie McNair.
1,800 Toledoans completed applications and are waiting for help.
The city is no longer accepting applications, but hopes to open the portal again soon.
If you're in a housing emergency you can still reach out.
"We don't want to have anyone evicted, we can go ahead and initiate a case in house and we'll be able to get them signed up and get it paid if they're eligible," said McNair.
In the meantime Pathway Inc. is offering assistance to those behind in rent and utilities, including internet.
The organization just got an additional $19 million allotted from the state and Department of Treasury.
"Far more than we knew or predicted, and I believe that's why we got such a large allotment this last round of funding," said Jay Black, President and CEO of Pathway.
Black says the organization has already helped thousands and the demand in Toledo is still huge.
But he sees it make a difference.
"We had a family that was due to be evicted, had small children. Parents were able to get back to work and now they're almost back to normal," said Black.
Through the city, the average assistance grant ends up being about $5,000 and doesn't have to be paid back.
If you own your home, the Department of Neighborhoods has a separate mortgage assistance program available right now.
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