Osceola County is preparing to make another round of rental mortgage assistance and small business assistance available.
The county received notification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of a direct allocation of over $936,000 from the federal CARES Act, a coronavirus-inspired stimulus package. The County Commission agreed at its meeting Monday to budget that money as Community Development Block Grant funds.
According to the resolution commissioners agreed on,
Increase funding – by $436,122 will be rental assistance for up to two months for low-to-moderate income households that have experienced hardship, and $500,000 will go to Special Economic Development Assistance and Microenterprises for COVID-19 community response.
County Human Services Director Celestia McCloud said the money would be deployed beginning Monday at 8 a.m. through its online application process; Check the county’s financial assistance page for information on how to apply. Prior pools of assistance money made available in prior weeks were snapped up quickly, and the county will be taking the first 500 applicants.
Combined with Florida State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds available, which will be distributed first, the county has about $1 million in assistance to offer, McCloud said.
The county also re-allocated remaining funds for a sewer connection project in Marydia, which is now complete, to a Robert Guevara Community Center floor covering project.
