Hope Program - March 2021

Burke County United Way has heard from some community members who are confused about United Way’s role with the North Carolina HOPE Program and we want to offer clarification. Please read below to understand who to contact with questions and how United Way is involved.    

The HOPE Program is administered by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency in the state Department of Public Safety. Funded by 2020 federal emergency coronavirus relief funds, the program promotes housing stability during the pandemic by providing rent and utility assistance to prevent evictions and utility disconnections. United Way of North Carolina and NC 211 provide call center support for the HOPE Program but do not manage the program. Please refer to the below bullet points to assist you, if you have questions, or need to contact your HOPE Specialist.

Applicants should call NC 211 (2-1-1) to:

• Update information on their application.

• Receive the contact information for the HOPE Specialist processing their application.

• Get more information on how to protect themselves from eviction while waiting to hear back from the HOPE Program.

• Check the status of their application (NC 211 will not be able to provide a timeline for when funds will be sent. Call specialists can only tell applicants the status of their application and pinpoint any clerical errors that may be holding up the process).

The 2-1-1 call volume has been extremely high over the last months and wait times are longer than usual. However, HOPE call specialists are speaking to callers from 8am-6pm, Monday-Friday and NC 211 encourages individuals to be patient and continue trying until they are able to reach someone.

Applicants should call their HOPE Specialist to:

• Provide needed documents and receive assistance with uploading documents through online portal.

• Ask specific questions about award amount, eligibility status, and award type.

• Inform the program that they have received a disconnection or eviction notice.

Please also note: Individuals who applied on or before November 11th and were deemed eligible for the program will receive funding. Everyone involved with HOPE is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. Because of the high volume of applications, it is taking longer than expected to deliver funding to applicants.

Find more information about the HOPE program at nc211.org/hope.