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Rent, Mortgage Relief Available for Homeowners
PAHAF program helps residents who lost income due to COVID-19 hardships
By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
March 15, 2022
Posted in: Announcements
Local homeowners who are facing foreclosure or other financial hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for help.
The Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund will help homeowners whose annual household income is at or below 150 percent of the area median.
In the Mon-Yough area, Mon Valley Initiative is one of the agencies that will provide help through the program.
“PAHAF is designed to assist homeowners facing mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and the loss of utilities or home energy services,” said Jonathan Weaver, housing counselor at MVI, which has offices in Charleroi and Homestead.
“This PAHAF program was developed to help stabilize our communities,” Weaver said. “In situations like this we need to do our best to help others.”
The Pennsylvania General Assembly allocated $350 million in federal funds toward the relief effort.
“The hard part in this is that there is a lot of fear and shame when families are facing challenges,” Weaver said. “Human nature isn’t to step forward — our own natural tendency is to hide and hope no one sees us. It takes people like you and me to hand out as many lifelines as we can to reach those who need the assistance. Our communities are better for it.”
To find out more information, call Weaver at 412-464-4000, ext. 4008, or email jweaver@monvalleyinitiative.com.
Other Western Pennsylvania housing counseling agencies that can assist homeowners in applying for PAHAF relief include:
ACTION-Housing
611 William Penn Place
Suite 800
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Advantage Credit Counseling Services, Inc.
2403 Sidney St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Fayette County Community Action Agency, Inc.
140 N. Beeson Ave.
Uniontown, PA 15401
NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania
710 Fifth Ave.
Suite 1000
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Applicants also may call the PAHAF call center directly at 1-888-987-2423 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, or visit the website at www.pahaf.org.
Originally published March 15, 2022.
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