Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva joined Arizona’s Democratic House Delegation, sending a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) demanding the state accelerate the dispersal of emergency rental assistance to keep Arizona families in their homes. This letter comes after Rep. Grijalva held a press conference calling for more action by the state, asking them to reallocate funds to more efficient local programs. In early August, Grijalva called on Ducey to issue a statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium.
Grijalva stated, “While many local organizations are undertaking excellent work to quickly disburse rental assistance to Arizona families facing eviction, the State’s DES Program has unfortunately failed to do so. The new eviction moratorium gives us a new opportunity to quickly get these funds to the people who need it most. The State must stop dragging its feet, and instead do more to help Arizonans negatively impacted by the pandemic.”
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, approximately 253,000 Arizonans are behind on rent. Additionally, data from the Treasury Department shows the State of Arizona DES Program has only disbursed $4.4 million of $289.4 million in allocated emergency rental assistance.
The lawmakers called on the state to improve outreach and public communications on rental assistance, hire more temporary workers, improve the ease and accessibility of the application process, urge state and local courts to pause eviction proceedings for landlords and tenants to seek rental assistance, and release more state funds to local programs that were more efficient in disbursing rental assistance.
“Arizona has received hundreds of millions of dollars for rental assistance from COVID-19 relief legislation,” the letter states. “Yet, as of August 5, 2021, Arizona distributed less than $12 million to renters and landlords. In addition, the State has specifically failed to provide sufficient technical assistance to rural families who struggle to apply through the online-only portal. These unacceptable failures must be addressed, starting from the Governor’s Office.”
