Does RHEHA have rental assistance for Warwick residents?

Westbay Community Action operates the Rhode Island Home Emergency Housing Assistance program. While the program has been a major provider of back rent and security deposits for Kent County tenants, funding is sometimes limited.

What is Rhode Island Home Emergency Housing Assistance?

The RHEHA program combines intensive case management, budgeting assistance and classroom training with cash support that can help families in crisis deal with financial hardship.

A typical client would receive counseling on managing their bills along with support to reduce their overall household income needs. At the same time, case managers work with each client to find increased income opportunities. This can include resume support and job search assistance. They can even help to link you with free career skills training programs, such as computer classes and technical training.

In addition to the case management, RHEHA has provided tenants with back rent support. This help with back rent is what often allows a household to avoid an eviction. The funds can help a family catch up on rent to the point that they are able to stay current on their rent payments permanently. Often, it is this temporary aid that can help to bridge the gap when a financial emergency happens that keeps a household from being able to afford all of the bills. By paying the back rent owed, it can allow a family to stay in the same home and return to self-sufficiency within a month or so.

Support has also gone to security deposit assistance. These grants were designed to help a family move into a more affordable rental unit. Since security deposits on tenement housing, apartments and other units tend to require 2 months of collateral, it places an undue burden on lower income families that are struggling just to get by. Funds were provided to help a family cover the security deposit without the burden of having to repay the assistance.

In July 2013, Westbay Community Action announced that they temporarily ran out of funds for RHEHA. Rental assistance for Warwick residents depends on the availability of funds, and this support has been very limited in the face of government cuts. The state economy has been hit so badly that there simply are not funds available for these local agencies. As such, Kent County residents who live in Warwick, West Warwick and East Greenwich should call Westbay at 401-732-4666 to see if funding has been restored. More importantly though, it would still be helpful to benefit from the case management services that are still available, especially since referrals to rental support programs are possible.