WOODSTOCK — With federal unemployment relief coming to a halt this week, the organizers of the Woodstock Area Relief Fund have asked donors to wait as they assess the likely need in the Connecticut River Valley towns they serve.
WARF, which was created in early April to help people with immediate pandemic-related expenses such as food, quickly surpassed the goal of $100,000 it set this spring, and has now raised more than half a million dollars in individual donations.
The fund has donated nearly $320,000 of that money to households in Woodstock, Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret and Reading to help 496 individuals, according to organizers.
The head of the local Economic Development Commission and a team of volunteers administer applications, said Jill Davies of Woodstock, one of the WARF organizers. In order to qualify, applicants must be unable to meet their “basic household needs” as a result of the pandemic-related economic disruption.
Nearly half of the WARF money, or 46%, has gone to help people with rent and mortgage payments; another 16% has been used to help with utilities. Another 9% has gone to food, and another 9% to help pay for children to take part in a summer program that serves as child care while parents work.
This week, unemployment insurance claimants stopped receiving a federal supplement of $600 that Congress created in March to augment state unemployment insurance benefits. The supplement was set to expire at the end of July. As members of Congress debate the future of that program, WARF is gearing up for tough times ahead.
“We know now that with the checks running out, there is going to be greater need,” said Davies, adding that donors have been contacting WARF organizers seeking to donate more money.
“Several people have phoned and said, ‘Can I give you more money yet?’” said Davies. “Because we don’t know how large the need is, we have asked them to wait.”
Woodstock is not the only municipality in Vermont with a Covid-19 relief fund for local residents. The funds take many different forms. A Montpelier group created a pot of money to distribute to downtown businesses that have first-floor storefronts, raising $200,000 from five large local employers. The town of Dover used $100,000 of town money for an economic relief program for local businesses. The town of Peacham is raising money for a fund that disburses grants to individuals or families; Greensboro residents are raising money to provide aid to entities working locally in health care, food security and essential services.
Housing area especially under stress
Even before the Covid-19 crisis hit Vermont in March, housing prices were viewed as a major economic development and social justice issue in the state, and creating more affordable housing was a top priority for lawmakers.
The Covid-19 crisis has worsened the problem. State officials estimate 10% of Vermont’s 45,000 mortgage holders have taken a financial hit in the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying economic slowdown. Since March 15, about 120,000 people have applied for unemployment benefits, according to the Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance summary.
On July 13, Vermont officials launched two housing assistance programs using money from Vermont’s $1.25 billion share of the $2 trillion emergency CARES Act that Congress passed in March. The two programs, one offering mortgage assistance and one offering rent assistance, are part of an $85 million measure that Gov. Phil Scott signed into law July 2 that also includes legal and counseling services, eviction protection, rental assistance and other housing support.
So far, nearly 200 Vermonters have submitted eligible applications for the mortgage assistance program, said George Demas, general counsel for the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, which is administering the mortgage portion of the state Covid-19 housing assistance. If those applications qualify to receive the full benefit of 6 months of mortgage payments, that will use $1.6 million of the $5 million available, Demas said.
The Vermont State Housing Authority, or VSHA, which administers the $25 million rental assistance portion, has received more than 2,000 applications for rental assistance from landlords and tenants, said Director Richard Williams. The fund has paid out about $750,000 so far, with the average payment $2,419, he said July 30.
It’s not just people in low-wage jobs who are unable to pay for their housing right now, said Rep. Charlie Kimbell, D-Woodstock, and one of the WARF organizers. Kimbell said the crisis and the response to the fund has shown everybody involved in the WARF that Woodstock, and not just the surrounding area, has residents in need.
“There is a great veneer in Woodstock,” said Kimbell of Woodstock’s well-tended downtown and stately homes. “Just underneath that veneer are the folks who live here all year, and it’s like any normal community where you have folks who have real needs that just aren’t being met by the income stream. It’s true of any kind of community, and a crisis like this makes it more obvious.”
Some people who did have jobs were unable to go to work because their child care was no longer available, noted Seton McIlroy, another WARF organizer.
Vermont has a large proportion of second homes, and the Woodstock area has one of the highest concentrations of those homes in the state, according to some real estate studies, as well as higher-than-average home values. About 40% of the $513,000 that has flowed to WARF has come from people who live out of state, according to WARF organizers. More than 450 individual donations have arrived so far. “There were donations of $20 up to tens of thousands of dollars,” said Davies.
Kimbell said some of the people who have applied for money from WARF were eligible for unemployment insurance benefits but were still working with the Department of Labor to have their claims processed.
“There were some applicants we talked to who had gone six weeks without any kind of benefit whatsoever,” he said. The fund has provided four months of rental assistance to some claimants. It pays many bills directly to landlords or mortgage companies, Davies said.
Davies said WARF’s organizers are going to wait and see if people continue to need money before resuming fundraising.
“We want to be sure we need the money” before asking for it, said Davies on July 29. “A month ago, we were only halfway through our money. We don’t know what is going to happen, but we’re ready to turn that key when we need it.”
