Wyomings Homeowner Fund Has Dolled Out Almost $3 Million Since May Launch

The Homeowners Assistance Fund, which was launched at the beginning of May, has since provided $2.69 million in assistance to 254 households as of June 9, according to the Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS).

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The program has been allocated $45 million from the American Rescue Plan, and they have until September 2025 to spend all the money.

Corrine Livers, Economic Security Programs Administrator for the DFS, said that the program has been running without issues since it launched.

"I mean clearly people are appreciative of the assistance that's out there," Livers said. "The services have been relatively easy to work with as well, so that's been good, so then we can get payments out the door quicker...We've been very lucky, the systems worked really well, the case management has worked really well, the customer service line has managed all the calls, and we've had no complaints and the program has gone out without issues."

Of the money that has been distributed, a majority of it, $2.67 million, has gone to pay mortgages, while $15,600 has gone to utilities, $2,400 has gone to property taxes, and none has so far gone to pay for homeowners insurance or homeowner association dues.

Livers said she doesn't know why there hasn't been any money allocated to those areas so far.

An estimate done by the DFS, which extrapolated data from the Wyoming Community Development Authority and census data, showed that there are between 2,000 and 4,000 people in the state who could qualify.

The program also requires people who have payments that exceed the amount that the HAF program covers, $17,000, to speak with a housing educator to get a better grasp on their payments.

The service includes things like budgeting, identifying "loss mitigation measures," counselors helping people through the HAF process, and additional housing support if needed.

So far, there have been 51 people who have completed that education, which Livers said takes different amounts of time for different people, with 21 people who are in the process of completing the education.