Laid-off workers get help with rent

Mathis Winkler

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 9:26 a.m.

City officials are likely to use $200,000 in federal money to help recently laid-off workers in North Las Vegas pay their rent.

The money would pay the rent of about 50 families for six months, said North Las Vegas Housing Authority officials, who would administer the fund.

"What we want to do is keep people from getting evicted," said Don England, the authority's chief executive officer.

England said he approached city officials with the idea after Clark County officials last month allocated $1.6 million in federal funding to the county's housing authority, which will provide rental assistance for people laid off after Sept. 11.

County housing authority officials said they will interview people today and Saturday to decide whether they qualify for assistance. Altogether, the county's money will likely cover rent for 525 families, said Gustavo Ramos Jr., the county authority's deputy executive director.

The North Las Vegas authority's board of directors, which is largely composed of council members, will discuss the proposal at their meeting Wednesday. Council members could then vote on the issue later this month or in early December. A council approval is likely, and England said his team would then immediately begin helping with rent payments.

He added that about 120 families, who currently receive rental assistance from the housing authority, have reported a drop in income since the Sept. 11 attacks. Those people will automatically receive help; their rent gets adjusted depending on how much they make.