JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Evictions in Jefferson County are skyrocketing due to rising rent and job loss, but officials want the community to know relief is available.
Jefferson County recently received almost $5 million in federal money.
Janice Semien is a retired veteran who recently fell on hard times, but with the help of the emergency rental assistance funds, she was able to catch up on her rent, return to work as a school bus driver, and be able to support herself again.
Semien was four months behind on rent and was facing eviction, that was until she got six months of rent paid by the Jefferson County Rental Assistance Program, which was handled by Southeast Texas Regional Planning.
"I was able to get some peace," she said.
But Semien's story isn't the case for a lot of Jefferson County renters, according to Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 Ben Collins.
"We used to have only have evictions on Tuesdays in the morning. Now we're having a session in the mornings and then afternoons. And we've had a third day or second day for evictions. We have so many cases," Collins said.
Collins says this is the first week they've had to add a second day of evictions court because cases have increased drastically.
Before the pandemic, they would average about 10 cases per week. Just a few months ago, they had about 20, but now, they have up to 40 cases each week, according to Collins.
"What we're doing, we're putting these on all the eviction citations and come on this court to let the tenants know because another program available to him," Collins said.
Jefferson County received another $4.8 million in rental assistance funding from the federal government and now, Legacy Community Development handles rent relief programs.
The funding gave Semien the peace of mind she desperately needed.
“It helped me in my health, I am in good shape now. Healthy, happy, and I'm not worried about anything," she said,
Funding from Legacy Community Development is open to anyone who fell behind on rent or utilities.
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