Northern Cheyenne get 3 million for rental assistance

Press releases from U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s office recently announced FY 21 Housing grants to Montana Tribes including the Community Development Block Grants and annual operations grant.  Rodney Trahan, tribal member and Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing Authority (NCTHA) Executive Director explained that while essential to tribal housing authority operations the new funding actually represents a loss of revenue.

“Because the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) has not been re-authorized, this funding seems to be a last-minute thing in each Federal budget and has remained flat for many years,” he explained.  “Due to inflation, the rising cost of materials and labor, we are losing ground.”

Reauthorization of NAHASDA is a legislative priority for all Indian Housing Authorities he noted.  “Stabilizing and providing inflationary increases for the Indian Housing Block Grant, the mainstay for ongoing operations is really needed.”

“We have a good grant writing team and a successful track record in securing funds,” he noted.  “However, a frustration is that priorities for projects are established through the regulations and often funding is not available for the priorities we have established at the local tribal level.”

Infrastructure for future housing development he said is the single most important need at Northern Cheyenne. “There is a critical need for water, sewer and utilities.  The existing systems on our reservation barely keep up with the present situation.  In the absence of adequate infrastructure, it is nearly impossible to responsibly make long range housing developments which require years to plan and construct. Relying on year-to-year funding makes this very difficult. Ideally we would have a fifteen – twenty-year plan.”

Trahan is more enthused with a new grant – the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) which was funded this fiscal year at Northern Cheyenne by the US Treasury for a little over three million.  “We didn’t expect to receive such a large amount,” he said, “but the Treasury Department reallocated funding when other Tribes did not apply.”

The purpose of ERAP is to assist people (in the case of Tribes, enrolled members) who have experienced problems paying rent, utilities and other housing related costs due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Nationwide 52 million was provided for the tribal ERAP program, including eligible entities such as Tribal Housing Authorities. According to the US Treasury website other Tribes in the Great Plains area which applied for and received ERAP grants include Blackfeet, Cheyenne River, and Crow Creek. Fort Belknap, Sisseton Wahpeton, Salish Kootenai, Fort Peck, Little Shell, Northern Arapaho and Oglala Sioux.

“We were very pleased with the response from our clients, especially those in low rent when the stimulus payments came out,” Trahan said in compliment to the Northern Cheyenne community.  “We got a little golden balloon as many people settled overdue rentals and some even paid forward, but there is still an ongoing need and ERAP will really help with that. The old stereotype that Indians get everything free just isn’t true.”

Unlike many federal programs ERAP allows Housing Authorities to provide assistance no matter the residence- that is, it does not require reservation residency.  In part because of the generous grant amount, Northern Cheyenne will be accepting applications from Tribal members from across the Nation while other Tribes such as Northern Arapahoe have identified a multi-state area of eligibility.

Eligibility requirements will soon be posted on the NCTHA website but following federal guidelines will go to those with rental or utility arrears (up to one year) and to maintain housing stability by awarding funding for three months, which can be renewed once applicants are approved.  The most important criterion for applicants is to fall at 80% or under the median income level of the area in which they live.  Trahan felt confident that senior citizens on social security or other benefits will be eligible.

Right now, the NCTHA priority will be the ERAP program.  Though the successful grantees were notified of funding in January, the implementing regulations were only issued on March 26^th.  Thus, NCTHA is scrambling to staff up and develop a special accounting system for the monies; conduct an outreach effort on a national basis to let eligible tribal members know of the opportunity and obligate at least 60% of the funds by September 30 in order to be eligible for the remainder.

Ironically, he also reports that due in part to COVID-19, filling vacancies at all levels has become much more challenging.

Trahan, staff and the Northern Cheyenne Utilities Commission, a close working pardner are hopeful that additional funding touted by the Biden Administration for infrastructure will also come though.  If so, they intend to get their crack grant writing team to work and be one of the first to apply.

(Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com)

 

The post Northern Cheyenne get 3 million for rental assistance first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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