Tens of thousands of Alaska tenants got help with rent during the pandemic. But the federal rental assistance program is set to expire by early summer, and many still face challenges finding and affording housing.
April 6, 2022
Eighteen-year-old Haines resident Emma Brouillette has moved three times since graduating from Haines High school last year. “Between COVID and us not having tourism, so many businesses are closed, there’s not too many jobs out and about that can offer sort of a lot of progression,” Brouillette said. “So I’ve been doing my best to look around for jobs that can provide. And with COVID, so many people are having that same struggle. So people are sticking to their apartments, sticking to where it’s safe.”
Now, with federal funding ending, she’s looking for a better paying job and a more affordable place, ideally splitting costs with a roommate.“I have a job, and I’m able to pay for things, but I’m not able to look at a better job,” Brouillette said. “With my lease ending, if I want to try to find a new place, I need to find another source of income so I’m able to pay that first month of rent and that down deposit so I can actually move.
He found emergency housing following the disaster, then rented a studio apartment in Fort Seward for $850 a month. As a former tour guide, but with no summer tours during the pandemic, he qualified for the COVID rental assistance.
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