Hundreds of families across Larimer County are in need of urgent rent assistance this holiday season. A collaborative of local community organizations is working together to provide additional staffing to support the influx of 700+ urgent rent assistance requests in December, as well as a $50,000 fundraising goal to keep families in their homes this holiday season.

Community members can make a tax-deductible donation in the following ways:

• Donate online to the Community Emergency & Response Fund at https://impact.uwaylc.org/ResponseFund
• Mail a check with “Eviction Prevention” in the memo line to United Way of Larimer County, Attn: Eviction Prevention, 525 W Oak Street, Suite 101, Fort Collins, CO 80521

Eviction moratoriums will lift at the end of December, resulting in an influx of emergency rental assistance for over 700 families across Larimer County, roughly an 87% increase in demand since October. According to Neighbor-to-Neighbor, a local housing resource nonprofit leading rent assistance efforts in Larimer County, approximately 300-350 households [per month] have requested emergency rent assistance since the start of the pandemic in March.

“COVID’s impact on our community has catalyzed organizations to respond in a way that leverages each’s strength and area of expertise. Whether it be relationships with impacted families, knowledge of distribution processes or connection to local donors, the rise in demand has created an ‘all-in’ approach,” said Deirdre Sullivan, President and CEO of United Way of Larimer County.

Eviction prevention requests began to spike in late November, with 700+ requests within the first few weeks of December.

To respond to this rapid increase, community organizations offered staff time to assist Neighbor to Neighbor in processing the surplus of applications. Before eviction moratoriums are lifted at the end of December, a group of collaborative partners has united for a temporary solution to process assistance requests quickly. The collaborative response effort includes United Way of Larimer County, Homeward Alliance, Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, The Matthews House, Project Self-Sufficiency, Interfaith Solidarity and Accompaniment Coalition (ISAAC), and The Family Center/La Familia.

Throughout the pandemic, Neighbor-to-Neighbor has distributed $2M in rent assistance from a variety of sources to 2,500 households and expects to distribute an additional $2M in the coming winter months. “We have been working hard to stay on top of the need for emergency rent assistance. Thousands of households lost income and have struggled to recover due to not being able to return to service industry jobs,” said Kelly Evans, Executive Director of Neighbor-to-Neighbor. “It’s thanks to donors and funders for the outpouring of support which makes rapid response and eviction prevention a reality. We’re so grateful to our front line staff and to the community partners for joining in this critical community effort.”

Join the community in supporting families this holiday season – by giving them the gift of housing stability. Make your gift today!

Neighbor to Neighbor is the primary housing resource for Larimer County residents, with services fostering the basic human need for stable housing for people from the homeless to homeowners. N2N supports Larimer County residents with three key service areas of Renter and Affordable Housing Programs, Homeownership Programs, and Preventing and Ending Homelessness. To learn more about Neighbor to Neighbor, visit www.n2n.org