Housing support program gets revamp

The emergency housing assistance program through which the State of Wyoming has offered help to citizens facing eviction or the loss of their mortgage due to the global pandemic has received a revamp to make it easier for those in need to access assistance. According to Scott Hoversland, executive director of the Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA), flaws in the program were causing too many applications to get denied.

The Wyoming Emergency Housing Assistance Program (WEHAP) has been up and running since June 4. Since that time, said Hovrsland, only around half the applications have been approved.

“From the start, we didn’t want to see people getting evicted or losing their mortgages,” said Governor Mark Gordon last week, explaining that the program is being reworked to make it more accessible.

WCDA wants that assistance to go out where it’s needed, Hoversland said. Some problems have been identified in the application, such as the requirement for a 30% co-pay if the applicant still has income coming in, and the forbearance option for federally backed mortgages, both of which he said had caused a lot of denials.

Some of the changes that have been made to the program include an increase in the maximum monthly payment from $2000 to $3000; a reduction of the co-payment to 10% of income; the removal of a restriction involving the applicant having $10,000 of liquid assets; and a change in the definition of a household to no longer include roommates and children under the age of 18.

Hoversland strongly encouraged anyone who has seen their application turned down – and anyone in need of assistance who has not yet applied – to register an application. Even if you were denied, he said, you may now be eligible.

The program can be found at wyomingcda.com.