Some North Dakota groups are renewing calls for the state to be more efficient in dispersing emergency pandemic rental aid. They say improvements have been made, but warn people who still need it are going without.

Last fall, North Dakota launched the online component of its Rent Help initiative, which distributes federal assistance for households facing eviction.

Sue Shirek, board chair of the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People, said they are still hearing stories about payment delays, in some cases, prompting eviction proceedings. She acknowledged the state has acted on some concerns but thinks it should no longer be a problem.

"This is money that gets put directly in the hands of the landlord, or the utility company," Shirek pointed out. "This should be a program that benefits our state and keeps people housed. And it's just not working the way it should."

She emphasized their feedback is coming from application counselors. The state human services department said it is aware of the lingering frustration and continues to eye system upgrades. It noted the average wait times for calls to the program's contact center are much shorter. So far, North Dakota has distributed more than $42 million in rental aid.

Katie Jo Armbrust, board chair of North Dakota Continuum of Care, said with an undertaking like this, glitches are expected. But she stressed local partners wish there had been more planning to better use their intake systems as the state prepared the online portal with its vendor.

"The system and the infrastructure are certainly there," Armbrust asserted. "I think on our end, there was a little frustration or disappointment that there wasn't a better coordination with the coordinated entry system."

The groups suggest the problems almost defeat the purpose of emergency relief.

Jessica Thomasson, executive policy director for the North Dakota Department of Human Services, contended the system is especially helpful in counties with fewer resources, and countered the state isn't tuning out the feedback.

"We try to learn what we hear from the contact center," Thomasson emphasized. "We try to learn from our community partners if there's confusion."

Thomasson said other improvements include simplifying the email updates for applicants, as well as "how to" videos. After a slow rollout, data show rental-aid distribution has ticked up in recent months.

In the past two years, homelessness in America has risen only 1%, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - which nonetheless reports a divide between urban and rural areas. In New Mexico, homelessness declined by one-third in the past decade, according to a summary delivered to state lawmakers by the Legislative Finance Committee.

Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said having enough rent to stay housed requires finding a job that pays a decent wage - often harder in rural areas - where even a 10-mile distance can be a huge barrier.

"To get from a place that's affordable to live to a job that pays a living wage - if you don't have a vehicle - there's just not the public transportation infrastructure or any way to get there," he said.

New Mexico's emergency homeless shelter capacity has more than doubled since 2016, with progress especially noted in Albuquerque. The report to the Legislature showed that on any given night, New Mexico has about 2,600 people who are homeless.

Like many other states, the supply of affordable housing in New Mexico has declined - by 50% over a recent 20 year period, according to the recent report. That makes finding housing especially tough for individuals struggling with mental health and substance-abuse issues, and in those cases treatment is often only available in larger cities such as like Albuquerque or Santa Fe, according to Olivet.

"In many rural parts of the country, rural New Mexico for example - where's there's just massive distance, even if they're wanting to get treatment, ready to go into treatment - there's no place available within 100-miles, 200 miles," he said.

The HUD report showed during the pandemic, economic stressors and the dramatic increase in rental costs drove homelessness upward, but large investments by states and the federal government through the American Rescue Plan reduced the overall numbers nationwide.

The Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, tenants, lawmakers and community leaders gathered at a news conference outside the Capitol in Carson City this week to rally for legislation to expand legal protections for renters and increase rent control.

According to lawmakers, Nevada rent prices soared above the rest of the country last year. They said access to affordable housing is a top issue facing families.

Assmeblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong, D-Las Vegas, said her bill, Assembly Bill 340, intends to change the summary eviction process. Currently in order to challenge an eviction in Nevada, tenants must make the first court filing. She said changing this would allow renters a chance to defend themselves.

"Something must be done," she said. "We cannot move forward another legislative session pretending like we don't have a crisis. We have a crisis."

Summers-Armstrong said her bill aims to change the procedure so that landlords would first have to go to court to have a tenant evicted, and provide them with plenty of notice to answer the complaint. She said it creates a more "fair legal process."

There are a number of bills that aim to provide solutions to what some see as an afforable housing crisis. Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, said her bill, Senate Bill 363, prioritizes housing for women veterans, women who were formerly incarcerated, those recovering from domestic violence - and senior women who are housing insecure.

"They are four times more likely to not have a place to stay than their peers," she said. "As a matter of fact, those four groups are the highest, the fastest-growing, homeless groups in the United States."

Spearman and other lawmakers are pushing for legislation to keep some of the state's lowest-income residents housed, while also aiming to prevent an eviction crisis as federal dollars distributed for rental assistance during the pandemic are set to expire.

A recent report examines Connecticut's eviction crisis and addresses some solutions to it. The report from Connecticut Voices for Children finds 39% of renters in the state who were not current on rent payments felt they would be evicted in the next two months. That rate was higher for Black and Latino renters, reaching 54% and 56% respectively. The report also finds high absenteeism rates correlate to some kids facing housing insecurity. But, the report takes a look at some short-term policy recommendations to help renters in the state.

Samaila Adelaiye, research and policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, said one of the primary areas of focus was income support.

"When it comes to income and income equivalent supports, we make recommendations for making the Connecticut property tax credit fully refundable and available to renters. Because while renters indirectly pay property taxes, they do not have access to relief through Connecticut's property tax credit," Adelaiye said.

He added they support different pieces of legislation addressing tenant protections. Other recommendations in the report include increasing funding for rental assistance, making a state child tax credit permanent, and sustaining funding for the state's Right to Counsel program. This report is one of a two-part series; the second report will address more long-term solutions.

Although the report provides avenues for alleviating Connecticut's eviction crisis, there are additional questions it raises. Adelaiye noted most of these revolve around renters in the state having enough money for other necessities outside of rent. He said there are numerous issues coming out of the state's housing crisis.

"We know that evictions particularly are the product of the housing affordability crisis is causing more socio-economic harm, increasing financial strain leading in some cases to homelessness."

From here, Adelaiye said the high cost of housing must be addressed, with rent caps being one way to do that. Currently, Connecticut Senate Bill 4 would have included a rent cap, but that was eliminated while the bill was in committee. However, should the bill pass, it will allow for a series of tenant protections including a winter eviction moratorium, making it illegal to evict anyone from December through March.