Carbon County officials are trying to get as much information out there to help renters and landlords who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic get the assistance they need.

Last week, the board of commissioners brought in two representatives from Catholic Charities, which has been designated as the manager for the CARES Rent Relief Program in Carbon County.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s 2020 Pennsylvania CARES Rent Relief program was established to assist families experiencing job or income loss as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis who are now struggling to pay their rent.

Rob Nicolella, executive director of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Allentown, said that the money is used to help stave off evictions and that renters and landlords must work together when applying if they are eligible.

How it works is that there must be documentation showing that there has either been at least a 30 percent reduction in income from March 1 or a complete loss of income because of the pandemic.

Renters and landlords must then fill out three forms, which are available at https://www.phfa.org/pacares/rent.aspx.

“The interesting thing about this is a variety of rent programs in the past have been generated staving off evictions, but because of (Gov. Tom Wolf’s) moratorium on evictions, the landlords are really guiding the ship right now and they are trying to get some income coming in with the rental property,” Nicolella said. “It’s a very interesting dynamic.”

Those approved get up to $750 a month to use as rent for up to six months or up to a $4,500 total.

Nicolella said that as an example, if the rent was $1,200 a month, the landlord would accept the $750 as complete payment monthly so that the renters are not falling behind in payments and the landlords are getting some income in to offset their expenses on the property.

“The idea then is allowing them to get some money in to the landlord allows renter to catch up on missed payments that already occurred and there is no penalty,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”

As of Thursday, Catholic Charities had received 15 applications, and Nicolella noted that it has been received well by those who have inquired.

For additional information on program guidelines, income limits and other questions, visit the aforementioned website and click on additional CARES RRP resources on the bottom of the page.

Send the completed applications to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Allentown, 900 S. Woodward St., Allentown, PA 18103.

To speak with a representative from Catholic Charities, call 610-435-1541, ext. 269, or email hmercado@allentowndiocese.org.

Funds through the program must be completely distributed by the end of the year.