Need help paying bills because of coronavirus? Richland County offers cash support
Richland County is making money available to help residents make it through the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown.
As part of an aid package approved last week, Richland County is making $250,000 available to local nonprofits to give locals a hand with paying rent or utility bills. Another $500,000 is being made available to make sure seniors and lower-income households have enough to eat during the crisis.
The county is now accepting applications for how the grants can best be used. The deadline to apply is June 30.
Aid will be administered through nonprofit groups whose applications are approved. Individual residents can’t get funding directly from Richland County.
Half of the food support funding, or $250,000, will go to the Senior Resources’ feeding program for Richland County seniors. Richland County estimates the funding will equate to around 40,000 meals for area seniors.
This money is on top of a $500,000 program the county set up to support local businesses struggling through a state-enforced lockdown of most sectors of the economy. That program will also accept grant applications until June 30.
Local governments have joined efforts by state and federal authorities to respond to the unprecedented economy slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Unemployment claims in South Carolina have spiked as businesses have closed and laid off workers. S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Don Beatty has temporarily halted eviction proceedings due to the crisis.
The city of Columbia has already distributed $1 million to businesses within the city limits, with another $400,000 still to be paid out to a backlog of applicants.
For more information on the grant program, contact Richland County grants coordinator Tyler Kirk at 803-576-5459 or email Kirk.Tyler@richlandcountysc.gov.
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