Eviction Prevention

PROVIDING RENT & UTILITY RELIEF FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY COVID

PROGRAM HISTORY

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for rental and utility assistance reached new heights. Fortunately, the federal government passed several relief packages, starting with the CARES Act, which passed in late March 2020. After federal funding arrived in our local area of Tucson and Pima County, the task fell on the local government to quickly prop up programs to distribute assistance, one household at a time.

Community Investment Corporation (CIC) was contracted by local government partners to develop and manage a dynamic online platform that could accept applications and administer funding from August 2020 to June 2022.

In a matter of weeks, to meet this level of need and achieve federal disbursement deadlines, CIC’s village (our team of staff) tripled in size, and a platform was built with the following features.

• Different parties, such as tenants, landlords, and County Constables could submit a request for assistance
• Requests for assistance could be submitted by phone, email, online forms, and fillable PDFs. No login account was necessary to interact with the system
• Cases could be securely accessed by dozens of caseworkers from 10+ nonprofit organizations and local government partners to assist tenants and landlords in completing their application

The Tucson Pima Eviction Prevention program has been at the leading edge of best practices nationwide in Eviction Prevention disbursement. Creating user-friendly application processes, bulk payment arrangements with utility companies, using proxies for income verification, and relying on self-attestation instead of burdensome paperwork and documentation requirements.

CIC engaged 10 of the community’s best and most recognized social service agencies to assist in the project. This program would not have been possible without the highly skilled labor and heartfelt participation of the nonprofit organizations.