This Wednesday on The Peace & Justice Report, Bob Connor and I will first host Chris Johnson, CEO of the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. The mission of Suncoast Partnership is to “prevent and end homelessness throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties.” The Suncoast Partnership is the lead agency for the Continuum of Care (CoC).
Our second guest will be John Shelton, author of Teacher Strike!: Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order. Jon is an assistant professor of democracy and justice studies at University of Wisconsin Green Bay. His book tells the story of how the politicization of teachers and their unions in the 1970s helped facilitate the decline of labor-liberalism, clearing the way for the roots of our own political era.
NEW RENT ASSISTANCE FOR SARASOTA COUNTY RESIDENTS
The Sarasota Consortium, a joint administration of Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota through the Office of Housing and Community Development, will be making rental assistance available for those affected by COVID-19.
The Consortium has received a distribution of $695,069 in Coronavirus Relief Funds from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Residents of Sarasota County who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and have experienced unemployment or underemployment may apply for rental assistance to prevent eviction. The funds can cover rental arrears dating back to March 1, as well as current rent due. Assistance may not exceed five months’ worth of rent and $9,000 in total.
The application webpage will be activated and open to the public at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. Program eligibility and requirements can be reviewed online now.
A limited number of paper applications will be available Sept. 8 at each public library in Sarasota County and at the City Hall Annex, 1565 First St. Applicants submitting hard copies must send the application by mail to the Office of Housing and Community Development, 111 S. Orange Ave., Suite 103, Sarasota, FL 34236.
The application period will end Sept. 30, or when all funds are expended, whichever occurs first.
For questions, contact the Office of Housing and Community Development at CRFRentAssistance@sarasotafl.gov or 941-263-6423.
