Santa Ana Holds Forum to Help Low-Income Residents Push Through Pandemic

A homeless man walks with his bike, dog, and possessions in Santa Ana, Calif., on Dec. 17, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The City of Santa Ana was planning to hold an online forum Feb. 10 to help protect residents from eviction during the ongoing pandemic.

Officials were planning to educate low-income renters about some programs it offers to help support those whose lives became more challenging as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

One of its services, Santa Ana SAVES Eviction Protection Program, helps residents cover rental payments and arrears. The city is also offering free legal and mediation services as it works to protect people from homelessness.

Recipients can also receive help covering security fees, moving costs, credit repair, and more.

The SAVES program was funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which awarded the city about $11.6 million as authorized by the CARES Act. Of that money, about $5.76 million will be used for the SAVES program.

The SAVES program is expected to help 750 Santa Ana households, with an average of $5,000 in rental assistance per household, though the number will fluctuate by individual need.

Meantime, a city eviction defense fund approved last August is expected to help 85 low-income households with legal services.

To qualify for the SAVES program, residents must live in Santa Ana and must be able to demonstrate COVID-19 related financial hardship impacting their ability to pay rent. Households must also review the income qualification table for the program to ensure their yearly income is lower than the 50 percent of the area median income for their family size.

After determining qualification, residents must complete a pre-application process to be screened, and then complete the full application once approved and provide the required documentation.

If approved, residents will be able to start receiving the assistance requested. The program began Feb. 1.

A Zoom meeting featuring information on the program and where residents will be able to ask questions will take place February 10 at 7 p.m.