High volume slowing down Harris County COVID-19 relief fund application
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Many Harris County residents are reporting difficulties applying to the county's COVID-19 relief fund, which opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The $30 million fund, which was approved in mid-May, was established to help struggling residents in the midst of the pandemic.
The application is open through 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 24.
But as people applied, ABC13 received calls from viewers saying they received messages about technical difficulties or that the phone lines to apply were down.
The application page has a message explaining, "due to high volume of traffic, we are experiencing some slow downs on the Harris County COVID-19 Relief Fund online application." It also says you receive a 502 and 504 error message, your application was likely received. The submission should be confirmed via text or email by Wednesday morning.
Money from the Harris County COVID-19 Relief Fund (HCCRF) is expected to help between 20,000 and 25,000 families pay for rent, food, medical care, child care, and other basic needs.
This is how it will work. Money will be distributed throughout the county, providing $1,200 for households of one to four residents and $1,500 for households with five people or more. The HCCRF will also target those in communities who are deemed to be struggling the most such as households below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), victims of domestic violence, youth aged out of foster care, and people in homeless shelters.
According to the relief fund's website, you will need the following documents when you apply:
- Proof of residency in Harris County
- Household income documentation OR proof of enrollment in a public assistance program
READ: Houston rental assistance program enrollment suspended after 90 minutes
This new fund comes at a time where eviction proceedings are being allowed to resume in Texas. Those actions were suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
As for the relief fund, officials have said they would like to see two rounds of disbursements. It will be managed by the Greater Houston Community Foundation.
Harris County residents can also apply via phone, by calling 832-848-0214 during the application hours.
For more details on how to apply, applying by phone or what you need to apply, visit the Harris County relief fund website.
As the new mask order also went into effect Monday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo stated there are 205 new cases and two additional deaths in the county.
SEE ALSO: New order signed requires customers to wear masks inside Harris Co. businesses
While the order calls for businesses to require guests and employees to wear face coverings or face a $1,000 fine, Hidalgo says you won't need to wear coverings while eating, exercising outside, driving, pumping gas or inside buildings that require screening like banks.
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