(Facebook/Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society).

By Aaron Schulze

Rent Bank

Kamloops rent bank expects greater need beyond COVID-19 pandemic

Jun 9, 2021 | 3:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society’s rent bank is expecting to see increased traffic as B.C.’s economy gradually re-opens.

Elena Markin, the Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society’s fund development coordinator, said nearly 500 individuals and families have been assisted by the rent bank in its eight years serving Kamloops and one year serving the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

Markin noted a decrease in the rent bank’s need early in the COVID-19 pandemic; one of the reasons being the B.C. government’s ban on issuing evictions for non-payment of rent between March and August 2020, and the other being government subsidies such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

“We are already seeing an increase in the last couple of months,” Markin said regarding people in need of rent assistance. “I was just talking to a lady in Cache Creek the other day telling her about the program. She was so happy to hear because she had a lady come in that lost her home and was living in her car. These are the situations we don’t want.”

The rent bank is intended to prevent homelessness by covering rent, utilities or damage deposits for low to moderate income individuals and families who are renting and in financial urgency. Non-interest loans of up to $4,000 – depending on the residence the renters are in – are paid directly out to utility companies or landlords.

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Markin said those who get approved for funding from the rent bank are also given financial training.

“[Budgeting] and other different financial skills that will help them not end up in a situation like this,” she said. “We work with each individual and family building a personalized plan for repayment. The repayment term could be up to three years, but most people do pay up before that. As soon as they get their housing and life a little more stabilized.”

The Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society doesn’t anticipate the need for rent assistance to go away. Markin said if anything, the society would likely start looking for partnerships to build their term loan capital.

Anyone who is, or knows of someone, struggling with paying rent, have lost their job, or are in a difficult financial situation, can find out more about the rent bank online.