YouthCare and the Y Social Impact Center have launched a new partnership to help youth and young adults pay back rent due to COVID. The two organizations worked together on a joint application made available through federal CARES funding and administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce, successfully securing a grant of $3.2 million for young people.

Young people may receive up to six months of rental assistance until June 30, 2021. To be eligible, young people must meet all of the four criteria.

• Currently 18-24 years old  
• Household resides in King County (A household is any group of people wanting to maintain housing together)
• Income at or below 80% of area median income over the past 60 days  
• Behind in at least 1 month of rent (full or partial) since March 1st 

You or anyone in your household must also meet at least ONE of the below criteria: 

• Experienced homelessness (includes couch surfing or doubling up) in the past five years 
• Been evicted in the past seven years
• Housing disrupted due to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion
• At the risk of severe illness as per CDC (62 or older, underlying condition)
• A member of your household has a disability including physical, mental, emotional, impairment caused by alcohol or drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury, a person with HIV/AIDS is considered disabled
• Currently pregnant or parenting
• Experienced the foster care system, adoption, mental health or drug and alcohol treatment, or have been involved in the court systems

Applicants will be contacted by a Y Social Impact Center staff who will help walk through additional requirements and documents needed.

Additional Information: 

• This funding supports single adult households as well as families. 
• People who are undocumented are eligible for this program. 
• Each applicant can only be served once through this program.  
• Assistance is available to tenants in formal and informal (friend/family) rental agreements. 
• Interpretation services are available. 

You can check this website for additional information on eligibility criteria and as well as additional resources for rent help. You can also contact the Y Social Impact Center for help by emailing renthelp@seattleymca.org.