Bernalillo County distributes last of federal COVID-era rent and utility assistance funds

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. — Officials say Bernalillo County has distributed all of the federal COVID-era funds they received for rent and utility assistance.

The federal American Rescue Plan Act awarded $17.4 million to Bernalillo County for its Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants assistance program. The program supported people unable to pay rent and utilities due to the pandemic. With the funding, the county kicked off its Emergency Rental Assistance Program in April 2021.

Three years later, officials have distributed those funds to 2,898 households. The households were all outside of city limits in unincorporated areas of the county.

“We would like to acknowledge the team at Bernalillo County who executed delivery of this funding,” County Manager Julie Morgas Baca said. “Because of their hard work, we were able to help thousands of Bernalillo County residents who were facing unprecedented times.”

County officials say the ERAP program also worked with the Metropolitan Courts to provide housing stability services.