As COVID relief wanes, this Sacramento neighborhood group is giving residents $200 grants
As federal and state COVID-19 relief for residents impacted by COVID-19 begins to wane, the Oak Park Neighborhood Association is continuing to distribute small grants to those in need of a little extra cash to weather financial uncertainty.
Oak Park Cares, a pilot program in part inspired by guaranteed basic income experiments like the one run in Stockton, launched in May 2021 to distribute up to $200 in grants to residents struggling to pay bills or unexpected expenses. So far about $3,600 of the initial $5,800 fund has been distributed to 21 people, said neighborhood association president Adrian Rehn.
“I think the idea is that any little bit helps,” Rehn said. “Sometimes, it’s only $200 that will help someone stay in their home.”
Operating as a kind of last-resort safety net, the program has received about 80 applications for stipends so far, Rehn said, which “gives you a sense of the need, and that’s just among those who’ve heard about the program.”
Rehn said the neighborhood association hopes to raise another $5,000 by the end of this year to distribute to residents through next year.
Many of the people who have applied for funding are people who are unemployed, or people who have caught the coronavirus, Rehn said. Others have gotten in car collisions, or have had sudden expenses like car troubles come up during the pandemic.
The most common expense applicants want to use the grant funding for is their Sacramento Municipal Utility District bill, with about a third of people saying they would want to pay off their utility debt. In Sacramento, about 100,000 residential SMUD customers are behind on bills as of September, or about 18% of all residential customers.
Other expenses applicants applied to have covered are rent, car payments, PG&E bills, and phone bills, Rehn said.
Earlier this month, most state and federal unemployment benefits created during the COVID-19 pandemic ended for workers. But Rehn said conversations with neighbors has revealed that many are still struggling to make ends meet.
“We need more of these protections in place,” Rehn said. “We’ve got a lot of grateful folks ... in the short-term, but I think there’s so much lack of surety around what’s going to happen.“
Oak Park Cares is one of several COVID-19 relief programs that have sprung up in Sacramento. City and county officials have poured millions into emergency rental assistance funds for tenants behind on rent, for example, and community nonprofits have also distributed cash to thousands of residents during the pandemic.
The Oak Park Cares program is still open for applications, and will continue to distribute funds on a rolling basis, Rehn said. Applicants must be over 18, live in Oak Park, show documentation that the funds were used as intended, and can only receive funds once every six months.
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 1:24 PM.