'It was a blessing to have them come here': Seniors raising grandkids get aid from Phoenix

They were behind on rent and power bills and couldn't figure out which way to turn. But on this one day, the city brought the help to them.

Phoenix sent rental and utility assistance representatives directly to seniors at Grandfamilies Place, an apartment complex in South Mountain Village for disabled seniors and seniors raising their grandkids. The Thursday event was the first of its kind at the complex.

After hearing how difficult it could be for older adults to navigate Phoenix’s mainly virtual assistance programs, Dana Burns, a south Phoenix community leader and the founder of A Permanent Voice Foundation, contacted District 8 Councilmember Carlos Garcia to see what could be done to help seniors handle rising rents.

She ultimately connected with Marchelle Franklin, Human Services Department director.

Burns asked the department to bring emergency assistance programs to the senior living apartment complex itself, since residents were having trouble getting help through the department's website and phone number.

Caseworkers from City of Phoenix Family Services and the City of Phoenix Landlord and Tenant Program, along with the Area Agency on Aging, came to the complex’s clubhouse to help seniors receive assistance to avoid evictions and power their apartments for the next few months.

Human Services Department officials said they are open to supporting more group events like this for vulnerable populations. Though they had done group events in the past, these events were cut back in the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I didn't know what to push'

Earlier this month, Ja Nice Yancy returned home from her sister’s funeral to an eviction notice on her door. She lives at Grandfamilies Place with her 11-year-old grandson, and after helping to pay for her sister’s burial, she had fallen behind on July’s rent and utilities.

“I was begging people for help,” she said. “But everybody I knew, we all had to pitch in to bury my sister.”

She turned to the city’s emergency rental assistance program phone number – 602-534-AIDE – for help.

“It was telling me to press the buttons for different services, to go online," she said. "I didn’t know what to push." Though she called multiple times, she said was unable to reach a person to speak with.

“It was very confusing for seniors,” she said. “It was very overwhelming, and after a while, you just kind of give up.”

Before the Grandfamilies Place event, Burns printed out the necessary paperwork for the residents in advance. Yancy, along with other seniors in the complex, just had to walk over to the clubhouse, fill out the paperwork and wait for their turn.

After meeting with caseworkers in person, Yancy received $808 in rental assistance to pay her past-due rent to avoid eviction for her and her grandson. She also received $480 in utility assistance.

“It was very easy,” Yancy said. “I’m just so happy that I got my rent paid. I could jump over tables and lamps, that’s how good I feel.”

Calling, documenting, uploading: It's a lot

To schedule an appointment to receive emergency rental and utility assistance over the phone, seniors have to call the Human Services Department on Mondays when weekly appointment scheduling opens at 7 a.m.. Appointments for rental assistance often fill up that same day, said Landrow Tsosie, a Human Services Department representative.

In the summer, the appointment slots for utility assistance fill up quickly as well.

Once they have an appointment, seniors must fill out the necessary paperwork and upload a number of documents to qualify for assistance — including gross income statements, financial impact statements, a lease agreement, proof of identity, a current utility bill and a document showing residency in Phoenix.

“One little hiccup, they could possibly be in violation,” Burns said.

The city’s emergency rental assistance program is only available to people experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. On Thursday, caseworkers found that the Grandfamilies Place seniors didn’t qualify for this program.

Instead, the city provided some residents with rental assistance through general purpose funds, a limited funding pool that requires proof of an eviction notice. It only can be used to pay for past-due rent.

Utility assistance for residents was provided through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

After a month of costly car troubles, Grandfamilies Place resident Carol Moore was unable to pay July’s rent. And on Thursday morning, she only had enough money on her power box to pay for a little over a day of electricity, including air conditioning. She had been paying as she could, putting a dollar here and there toward the pay-as-you-go Salt River Project plan. But it wasn’t enough, and her electricity went off for a few hours last week.

On Thursday, she received $320 toward her SRP plan, enough to pay for a little over four months of electricity based on her average daily usage. She received assistance to pay for her late July rent as well.

'It was a blessing to have them come here'

Over the past few months, representatives hosted utility assistance events at senior centers across the city, according to Gabriela Vega, a caseworker with the Phoenix Human Services Department.

“With the elderly or disabled, it’s hard for them to come to us physically or upload the necessary documents,” she said.

Coming directly to the seniors' apartment complex made these assistance programs even more accessible.

“It was a blessing to have them come here,” said Denise Rodgers, 68, a resident of Grandfamilies Place. “We didn’t have to try to get a ride nowhere.”

Rodgers has attempted to get utility assistance in the past through the Human Services phone number, but it has been trial and error, she said. “If you don’t have all of the documents, they put you on the back burner.”

“Today, it made it a lot easier. You didn’t have to fax in nothing,” she said.

Even for the Grandfamilies Place seniors who signed up but were not seen before the event ended at 12:30 p.m., the hard work is already done. Burns, along with representatives from the Human Services Department, made copies of their already-filled-out paperwork and documents and set up telephone appointments for them.

Grandfamilies Place Assistant Manager Mary Foxwell was grateful for the efforts.

“It helps our residents be able to see what resources are out there instead of waiting on the phone and not accomplishing anything,” she said.

Burns is planning to contact Garcia, her Council member, again. She’s hoping to bring this event to other senior living complexes in south Phoenix, including the two other senior living complexes owned by Tanner Properties Inc. – Tanner Manor and Tanner Gardens –and Matthew Henson Apartments, where she's heard residents express a need for it.

“My prayer is that I will be able to touch each senior living facility in this area and bring the city out,” she said. “Grandfamilies was the first.”

Madeleine Parrish covers equity issues for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at madeleine.parrish@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @maddieparrish61. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix seniors raising grandkids get help with rent, power bills