St. Louis County’s and the city’s Human Services Departments have joined forces to provide one online portal for residents to apply for the latest round of emergency rental assistance funds provided by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The new application portal is open and can be found here.

The new portal will be managed by LiveStories, a company selected during a competitive bid process to oversee the application process for both the city and the county, and highlights the way both entities are working together to address critical issues facing our region. 

Having one portal managed by one company will streamline the application process for residents and landlords to both apply and have applications processed. In the previous process, some applications for the city would be filed with the county, and vice versa. 

“From job loss to higher childcare costs, COVID-19 put an economic strain on families across the St. Louis region,” St. Louis City Director of Human Services Yusef Scoggin said. “We’re  proud to work alongside our partners in St. Louis County to make it easier to apply for rental  assistance funds and to keep families in their homes.” 

“During the first round of funding, it became clear early on that the need was greater than the amount of funds available,” St. Louis County Human Services Director Howard Hayes said. “With this second round of funding going out, we can continue helping the thousands of families  in St. Louis County and city who have struggled through this pandemic.” 

Residents can also download paper applications from the same link above. For questions, residents can email FORWARD-support@livestories.com or call toll-free at 1-855-582-3973.

Last year, St. Louis County received $29 million in federal funds for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). St. Louis City received $8.9 million. A second award of rental  assistance funds from the U.S. Treasury has provided another $29 million for the county and $12.4 million for the city. 

Information about the program, including eligibility, can be found on the portal’s website.