Norfolk’s Eviction Prevention Program will open back up for new requests starting April 1.

The program stopped accepting new assistance requests back in February because it had a backlog of over 200.

Kimberley Pierce is the director of Neighborhood Services with Norfolk. She says they pulled funds from a few different grants – and some gave new requirements. That includes limiting assistance to people behind on rent for three months or less.

“We had instances before where we had people that were eight or nine months behind,” said Pierce. “And we won't be able to process for that level of delinquency now.”

The program can now only give $3,250 per household per year – half of what they could previously provide. Pierce says they want to reach as many households as they can.

Pierce said the program will turn first to its 104-household waitlist that accumulated during February. She expects demand to stay high for rent assistance.

“I think just based on what we've seen since we've suspended accepting new requests, the 104 that we have now has just been what we've gathered in a month,” said Pierce. “We've got all the rest of March to go before we resume accepting those again and begin processing the individuals that are on the waitlist. But we expect it to stay pretty steady.”

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