During the special session, State legislators authorized the Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA) to receive and administer funds provided to the State of Wyoming from the U.S. Department of Treasury pursuant to the CARES Act. These funds are intended to be used for necessary expenditures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. WCDA was authorized to create a program, called the Wyoming Emergency Housing Assistance Program (WEHAP).
Eligible WEHAP recipients may receive one month of emergency rent or mortgage payment assistance up to $2,000, with subsequent month(s) of assistance contingent upon completion of a monthly Request for Continued Assistance form attesting to the need for on-going assistance. Funds may be applied to rent or mortgage for June 2020 and the renter or homeowner may also apply for assistance with past due payments from April and/or May 2020.
Rent (including lot rent), security deposit, mortgage payment, and/or hazard insurance assistance is included in WEHAP funds to support eligible households to stay in their homes or obtain housing. Homeowners with mortgage loans already in a forbearance program are not eligible.
Recipients considered eligible due to COVID-19 must have experienced at least one of the following:
• Job loss
• Reduction in compensation
• Closure of place of employment
• Other pertinent circumstances causing substantial loss of income, such as: obligation to be absent from work to care for a home-bound child, requirement to be quarantined based on their diagnosis of COVID-19, requirement of self-quarantine based on a Directive of the Governor, health officer, or medical professional.
WEHAP will utilize the CARES Act funds allocated to WCDA for emergency housing assistance. WCDA will pay the difference between 30% of the household’s current gross monthly income and their eligible WEHAP costs up to $2,000 per month. Payments will be made directly to landlords, property owners, mortgage servicers or, in the case of hazard insurance assistance, to insurance companies. Additional eligibility criteria apply.
WEHAP information and the application are available on the front page of www.wyomingcda.com.