Clay County has announced that residents will have access to millions of dollars of federal assistance to help with rent and utility bills.

*We have worked hard together as a County to stand up this $3.6 million program - Clay County Auditor Victor Hurlbert*

The Clay County Auditor’s office, along with Community Care Link, has developed an Emergency Rental Assistance Program to distribute over 3.5 million dollars in federal assistance to tenants struggling with housing costs. The County has also partnered with five local non-profit organizations to efficiently manage and allocate the funds to the community.

Clay County Auditor Victor Hurlbert believes the Rental Assistance Program to be an important part of the ongoing process of providing relief to citizens. He stated that City of Kansas City received its own share of federal assistance, so funds in this program will be made available to residents of Clay County.

“We have worked hard together as a County to stand up this $3.6 million program from scratch in a little over a month’s time.” said Hurlbert at a Commission business session on March 11th.

Those looking to apply should fill out an interest form available at: www.claycountymo.gov/transparency/erap.

Alternatively, citizens can use Clay County’s Rental Assistance Portal, which can be found under the Transparency tab on the county website.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story