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Dozens of San Antonians receive rent help from city as federal eviction moratorium ends

City council representatives from Districts 5 and 7 offered various resources to people facing eviction or in need of rent/utility help.

Some city leaders say a wave of evictions is coming.

The CDC’s eviction moratorium is was scheduled to expire Saturday, following inaction in Washington D.C. to extend it, and dozens of Alamo City families lined up for free legal aid and rental assistance on the west side. 

The thought of getting evicted is a scary thing to Alexis Perez.

“It’s a systematic, economic problem we’re having here in San Antonio," Perez said. "If I’m not the only one here, that’s a problem."

About the hope of getting some rent relief, Perez said, "it's going to change our lives." The mom of two was one of dozens of people arriving by car and by foot to Councilmember Teri Castillo’s office Saturday afternoon.

“We are going to face a wave of evictions, and our team has knocked on over 1,000 doors to know these resources are available. We had people lining up since 8 a.m. for these resources,” Castillo said.

Resources including legal aid services, volunteer attorneys, and the city’s neighborhood and housing services department were present at the event.

The city’s rent and utility assistance program has helped more than 42,000 households so far.

Councilmember Ana Sandoval estimated that, in her district, one in five people are behind 60 days on their CPS Energy bills, while 3,000 people are behind on their water bills with SAWS.

“I think additional assistance and additional outreach is needed, and we’ll go back and see how our funding is doing as well. We have $50 million, but we need to go back and see if that’s enough,” Sandoval said.

The city leader said the goal is to keep people in their homes during a prolonged period of uncertainty.

“Your local government has the federal dollars that belong to you, these are your dollars and you have every right to them,” Sandoval said.

Perez is grateful to hopefully be getting some of those dollars.

“Helping us with rent and our utilities, it’s a clean slate and a fresh start,” she said.

If you weren't able to attend Saturday's event, you can sign up for the city's rent and utility assistance program here.

The South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless has shared resources for those facing eviction in the area.

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