Freda Young had to move quickly in November. A dispute with her upstairs neighbor made staying in her home unsafe, she said. The Milwaukee woman was juggling moving and caring for her daughter, who suffers from seizures. Three months had passed without an update on the status of her application for thousands of dollars in rental assistance. Young was terrified she and her two children would be left homeless. A couple who asked to be identified as Ester and Jose Pérez because they lack permission to be in the United States also waited months to learn whether their request for assistance under a pandemic relief program was granted. They wondered: Should they reapply in hopes of a better chance at getting help? Heather Hanson applied in April for the second round of rental assistance that the federal government released. After not hearing back for months, she brainstormed other ways to help pay her rent. These are but a handful of Milwaukee County residents interviewed by News414 — a service journalism collaboration between Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Wisconsin Watch — who are struggling to navigate rental assistance programs offered through Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! Statewide, rental assistance disbursement is handled through the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), 13 of its regional agencies and Energy Services Inc. From March through late June, the state program distributed almost $35 million in federal funds to just over 10,000 households — of the $322 million available from the federal government that must be disbursed by the Sept. 30, 2025 deadline. The program, which Gov. Tony Evers launched in February, does not require that recipients have legal residency in the United States. The city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County run their own housing assistance programs financed in part by the federal government. They collectively received more than $32.5 million in the latest federal package to help tenants struggling with rent. Brown, Dane and Waukesha counties also run separate aid programs, as does the city of Madison. Community Advocates, which provides rental assistance to Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, says it has yet to tap the latest batch of federal funds as it works with county and state officials to secure leftover dollars from an earlier round of pandemic relief that expires sooner. Securing those funds will allow Community Advocates to serve additional renters in Milwaukee, where the need will remain incredibly high, explained Deborah Heffner, the agency’s housing strategy director. The Social Development Commission (SDC), which began disbursing its latest round of aid in May, said it had sent about $4.1 million to 1,036 Milwaukee households as of July 9. Community Advocates since March 1 has distributed more than $10.8 million to 3,700 Milwaukee County households and nearly $1.3 million to 360 households in Waukesha County. Brad Paul, WISCAP’s executive director, said his agency will ensure that all federal dollars provided to the state to help Wisconsin renters is disbursed. “Housing insecurity remains a serious issue in Wisconsin, so unless, or until we solve that, the money will continue to serve a critical need right up to the deadline,” Paul wrote in an email. George Hinton, CEO of SDC, blames delays in processing applications on the slow appointment of his agency as the citywide agency. Renters flooded the group with inquiries after learning that Milwaukee had funds for another round of assistance — but before SDC was set up to take applications, creating a long waiting list. Hinton believes SDC is making progress and aims to start distributing $1 million in aid each week. Heffner says her agency is processing applications from Milwaukee County as quickly as possible. Moratorium set to expire The assistance comes at a critical time. A nationwide U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on certain evictions is set to expire on July 31. That means potential hardship for millions of struggling renters across the country. With long lines for rental assistance and the growing tide of evictions looming, some renters are questioning how Milwaukee County and the city will keep thousands of residents afloat. Young, who works as a medical assistant for Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital and lives with her two teenage children, applied for rental assistance back in November to cover the costs of being furloughed and renting another apartment in West Allis. She said she felt unsafe in her previous home.