The Moultrie News
February 10, 2010

New Humanities Foundation Housing Program helping mother keep her home A single-mother in Mount Pleasant is among the five families in the tri-county area who are receiving assistance from the Humanities Foundation through a new federally funded initiative that provides long-term help for renters who are at risk of losing their homes.

The housing program is supported by a $500,000 grant over three years from the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, established by the American Recovery and Re- investment Act of 2009.

Katy Gerloff, who was recently appointed the pro- gram’s coordinator, said, “Given the current economy, the program is geared to- ward families who have lost jobs and income. We want to help families get back on their feet, and help them re- establish themselves in the long term.”

The program will eventually help at least two dozen families.

The families who are cur- rently in the program are re- ferred to the foundation by area social service agencies.

Families can receive no more than $950 a month for six months and after that period has ended they will be eligible to receive up to $700 for an additional nine months, Gerloff said. After each three-month period, families must go through a recertification process to become eligible for additional support, she added.

The program includes three months of rental ar- rears payments, if needed. The program also provides $200 a month in utility assistance for up to six months, she said.

In addition to managing the new HPRP program, Gerloff also will oversee the foundation’s existing ShelterNet program, which is currently funded by a Charleston County Emergency Shelter Grant.

Tracy Doran, the foundation’s president, said the Humanities Foundation is partnering with community agencies to provide referrals for the new housing program as it has done with the ShelterNet Program. “The program will target households that are most in need of this temporary assistance and are most likely to achieve stable housing, after the program concludes,” Doran said.

Before joining the Humanities Foundation, Gerloff was a case manager of the East Cooper Community Outreach financial assistance programs that serves more than 400 clients annually. Gerloff graduated in 2007 from the University of Virginia with a degree in Foreign Affairs and German.