Braintree, MA – Peabody Properties recently announced it has facilitated more than $1.9 million in rental assistance.
As part of the commonwealth’s emergency housing payment assistance services during COVID-19, Massachusetts has offered three programs, in addition to the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or ERAP: RAFT (Rental Assistance for Families in Transition), ERMA (Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance), and SHERA (Subsidized Housing Emergency Rental Assistance).
As of mid-September, Peabody Properties received $1,872,824.76 in RAFT funding, $20,108.00 in ERMA funding, and $22,099.09 in SHERA funding, for a year-to-date total of $1,915,031.85.
Kate Swope, director of resident services for Peabody Properties, worked with other state officials to frame the guidelines for the SHERA program, in part by reviewing best practices from RAFT and ERMA. Unlike the RAFT and ERMA programs, however, SHERA is unique in its assistance toward subsidized housing.
Individual tenants and homeowners are able to apply on their own for these funds, but the owner of a property can also apply on behalf of a tenant for SHERA funds if the tenant gives permission and is eligible to receive funding.
