HELENA — Starting May 7th, $123 million is available in emergency grants to families, small businesses, non-profits, health services centers and individuals across Montana hit hard by COVID-19.
This is the first round of emergency grants funded through the federal Coronavrus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Among the programs receiving funds is the Emergency Housing Assistance Program. Their goal is to help provide rent, security deposit, mortgage payments and/or hazard insurance assistance as need for Montanans who have lost a job or substantial income as a result of COVID-19.
Montana Housing operations manager Cheryl Cohen told MTN that they saw a high volume of 200-300 applications via the Montana Housing websitethe first morning.
And with everyone utilizing the system all at once there were, expected, intermittent slowdowns and challenges with upload speeds.
Cohen advises applicants use Google Chrome or Firefox as web browsers to make their application process run as smoothly.
Cohen said their goal is to "get the funds out as quickly as possible," so make sure any applicants check to see what supporting documentation they will need prior to submission.
If you have any additional questions or technical troubleshooting questions reach out at support@submittable.com.
