Monday morning, officials with Project BRAVO announced that they are temporarily suspending the rental and mortgage assistance program to new applicants starting on January 11, 2021, due to limited funds.
“The number of applications we received the first week of the year, plus pending applications from 2020 have exceeded our funding capacity for rent and mortgage assistance. In our first week of opening up our application process, we received over 1140 applications,” says Laura Ponce, Executive Director for Project BRAVO. “If we do not close the application process now, I’m afraid that we will exacerbate the crisis for potential applicants that need assistance now.”
Officials added that households that submitted applications for rental or mortgage assistance before 4:30 PM on January 11, 2021, will receive notice of eligibility by February 22, 2021. All other programs and services such as utility assistance will continue accepting applications through their online portal or paper applications available in mailboxes outside our six community centers.
“Project BRAVO also administers the Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP),” program official shared. “TEDP provides 6 months of rental assistance that may include future payments. To qualify for this program the tenant and landlord must have an active eviction with a docket number and assigned judge.”
Interested applicants may call the TEDP program administrator at (915) 562-4100 ext. 420 for more information.
Project BRAVO expects to receive additional rent and mortgage assistance funding later in the year and will open the rent and mortgage assistance application process once those funds are available.
“We encourage low-income families that are struggling due to COVID to apply for our other Project BRAVO programs such as utility assistance that can provide up to $1,600 in assistance in 2021,” officials added.
For more information on programs and services call (915) 562-4100 or visit www.projectbravo.org.
