As part of Indio’s commitment to help residents financially impacted by COVID-19, the city officially entered into an agreement with the Coachella Valley nonprofit Lift to Rise to provide much-needed rental assistance.
Nearly 350 Indio households are currently on the waitlist for the United Lift Rental Assistance Program, a countywide aid program administered by Lift to Rise for the eastern half of Riverside County. It’s estimated that the Indio City Council’s allocation of $645,754 in Community Development Block Grant Funding (CDBG-CV) to Lift to Rise will serve 286 of those households.
“This distribution will not solve all the financial problems caused by COVID-19 in our community, but it will go a long way toward getting these families the help they’ve been waiting for since late 2020,” said Indio Mayor Elaine Holmes.
“The United Lift program is intended for immediate help in paying past-due rent,” added Lift to Rise Founder and CEO Heather Vaikona. “We see the need every day, and are grateful to the City of Indio for recognizing the importance of housing stability.”
Lift to Rise has assisted more than 3,000 households representing more than 12,000 people in securing United Lift rental assistance. Initially funded through the federal CARES Act and CDBG funds, the Riverside Co. Board of Supervisors recently voted to allocate federal funds for the program to reopen this spring.
Indio renters who have not previously applied for funding through United Lift will be able to submit an application for the next round of assistance in the coming weeks at unitedlift.org.
