AUSTIN, Texas — To provide some economic relief Affordable Central Texas is hoping to help roughly 1,200 tenants through a fundraising effort. 

  • Hoping to raise $125,000
  • Will go to tenants struggling with job insecurity
  • Some out of work due to stay-at-home order

The nonprofit is hoping to secure $125,000 in grant money and donations that will help tenants who struggle with job insecurity. 

"This should be able to help them with utility payments or car payments, rent, a whole variety of things that could be impacting them so they can stay in their homes, so they can stay financially healthy," said Affordable Central Texas CEO David Steinwedell. 

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Leaders of the nonprofit hope to roll out some of that relief money from the ACT Together Program in the coming weeks. Some tenants in the housing say the stay-at-home order must end soon so they can get back to work. 

“I’m an esthetician and of course when all non-essentials got non-essential, we were included in that and so, you know, I’m just trying to find temporary work. I signed up for Instacart, stuff like that,” said Austin resident Victoria Jordan, whose bills continue to pile up. “I have rent, car payment, credit card bills, phone bills, you know, everything under the sun. My husband is thankfully still employed so that’s been helping, but it still puts us right at that cutoff."

To complicate matters, Jordan has two kids at home for the foreseeable future. Her landlords are waiving late rent fees for several weeks, but Jordan says it’s not enough. 

“If I can’t pay it now, and then I need to pay it later, but then I won’t be able to pay the following month, so it helps in that moment but not in the long term because you still need to pay it back,” she said. 

Jordan says getting back on her feet means Texas must reopen for business soon. 

“We need to work. We need to do what we can and we just can’t. They talk about flattening the curve but how am I supposed to flatten the curve and worry about when my next paycheck is coming?” she said. 

For more information on unemployment benefits and who is eligible visit the Texas Workforce Commission website.

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