MADISON, WI (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Dane County is making millions of dollars available to help out with people struggling to make rent payments amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a press conference Monday the county announced a $10 million eviction prevention fund. The money is mostly federal funds made available from the CARES Act. It will mostly go towards a rental assistance group called the Tenant Resource Center.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said it could help up to 9,000 renters.

“We know that this has been an extremely challenging time for everyone, and our message as with everything we've done is that you're not alone, we're going to do everything we can to help people stay in their homes and to help people who don't have housing find housing,” Parisi said.

The Tenant Resource Center said they have seen their call volume double the past couple of months, taking 200 to 400 calls per day.

Robin Sereno, executive director of the Tenant Resource Center, said the funding could be available in June. They are working on an online request platform as well as beefing up staff in anticipation of a high number of requests.
“We certainly anticipate an extremely high call volume, but we're kind of bulking up so we're able to provide capacity around that. This will be a prioritized system of folks that need assistance based on risk and need,” Sereno said.

Sereno asks people to be patient with requests when they make them because of the likelihood of a high call volume.

The Tenant Resource Center said they hope this will help both renters in Dane County, but by extension help landlords. Sereno said the Center works with landlords who need help or information as well.

Dane County will also donate to Catholic Charities as part of the rental aid efforts. Part of the money will go towards hiring five new housing navigators in the county to help people find homes who do not have one. The county is also providing $245,000 to help with initial costs of getting housing like paying security deposits.

Parisi said at the press conference that the county is still working to help people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. So far Dane County and Madison have helped get 400 individuals into hotel rooms.