The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors (SBAOR) in conjunction with the Ventura and Ojai Association of Realtors have distributed all of the funding obtained from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Realtor Relief Fund (RRF) and California Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Fund (HAF) to assist victims of the Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flow.
The program, launched on May 25 and completed Sept. 14, provided one month’s rent or mortgage payment up to $3,000 to victims.
In all, 278 families received grants of up to $3,000 to cover a month’s rent or mortgage payment.
A total of 52 Santa Barbara families were assisted by the SBAOR, and 226 Ventura County families were assisted by the Ventura and Ojai Valley Association of Realtors.
Santa Barbara County recipients were awarded $126,844.19 with $526,990.75 allocated to Ventura County victims.
All three associations were proud to have the opportunity to help so many area residents who had lost their homes.
The program gave a helping hand to people who had lost hope that they would receive any more assistance because the disaster was over, and we have received countless heartfelt thank-you letters from recipients.
While the funding is now exhausted, the Realtor community is still involved and assisting other organizations with preparing for the next disaster and helping people find homes.
— Andy Alexander is a licensed real estate broker with Santa Barbara Brokers and the 2018 president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. The opinions expressed are his own.