Housing group that usually helps around 30 people monthly sees number soar with COVID-19

With the coronavirus pandemic sparking worries about evictions and economic stimulus funding, the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization is seeing a dramatic rise in business.

CEO of ECHO Joey Smoak said the organization served 84 households in June and between 70-75 in July, compared to a typical month, which hovers around 30.

When the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES, allocated $5.2 million to the organization for COVID-19 relief, Smoak said the resources helped the organization keep up with the demand. Between people being on the verge of eviction and the federal stimulus money, activity in ECHO’s homeless prevention and rapid rehousing programs skyrocketed. But the demand for housing assistance still puts pressure on the organization.

“You’d have to have 500 housing case managers to be able to take care of it,” Smoak said.

Since the state’s eviction moratorium ended in mid-May, more than 1,300 evictions have been filed in courts across the county, according to public court data compiled by The Sun News. Smoak said some people in the homeless prevention program at ECHO misunderstood the moratorium, thinking it meant they didn’t have to pay rent while it was in place.

In the week ending Aug. 15, 7,255 people filed initial unemployment claims across South Carolina, 398 of which were in Horry County, according to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

In an economy largely supported by hospitality and tourism, Smoak said Horry County residents could be seeing businesses closing permanently within the next six months to a year, further straining residents’ ability to pay for housing.

“The [biggest] effect of the pandemic is not the people sick, it’s the economic impact,” Smoak said. “We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.”

Though ECHO serves 13 counties, Smoak said 85% of the people seeking help through its programs are in Horry County. Because the homeless population is Horry County is much larger than other counties in the state, Smoak said that figure isn’t surprising.

On top of the impacts of the pandemic, Horry County fair market rent levels decreased since last year’s figures, according to recent data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Smoak said this adds another obstacle for the organization to house people. 2021 fair market rent for an Horry County one-bedroom apartment is listed at $763 compared to $847 in 2020. For a two-bedroom apartment, fair market rent dropped $99: from $997 in 2020 to $898 in 2021.

Smoak said he plans to dispute the Horry County fair market rent numbers with HUD, noting that other South Carolina counties, including Florence and Sumter, haven’t decreased by that large of a margin.

This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 1:36 PM.