HOLLANDALE — Tuesday, citizens of the City of Hollandale and surrounding areas came out to the South Washington County Multiplex to take advantage of assistance with the Rental Assistance for Mississippians Program (RAMP).
Ward 4 Alderwoman Angela Warren-Lidge teamed up with the Boss Lady Crisis Resource Team and founder Pam Chatman to make the free assistance available to all those who needed it.
According to its website, the RAMP-ERA Program was established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and funding provided the program will assist eligible households that experience difficulty making timely payments of rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State of Mississippi received a total of $186,696,633.80 to be administered by the Mississippi Home Corporation for the program which requires tenants to meet certain criteria for assistance.
Warren-Lidge said she couldn’t have been more happy about the participation and Chatman’s willingness to provide assistance.
“I think this is a great program to help the people who actually need assistance with rent and utility bills. I got in touch with Ms. Chatman and we were trying to see what we could do for the citizens of Hollandale,” she added. “She came out with a group of people along with our mayor and other city officials to support and we had a great turnout. She (Chatman) is one of my biggest role models and I hope that we can do more things in the future together.”
Mayor Peresa Causey was also glad to see so many people take advantage of a great opportunity.
“I am so pleased that Alderwoman Lidge brought this to the board meeting for us to help our community. We have had a great turnout this morning and we’re still going strong,” she said. “Ms. Pam Chatman has come in to help us with this program and we’re trying to get everybody as much help as needed and we’re just thankful that this program is available to us and the citizens of Hollandale.”
Chatman echoed the sentiments of Warren-Lidge and Causey and affirmed the mutual excitement of collaborating for such a cause.
“There is so much help that is needed in the Mississippi Delta area, specifically when it comes to rental and utilities. We’re seeing that a lot of the rural people in the Mississippi Delta are in need,” she highlighted. “There have been many who have received eviction notices, a lot of people are experiencing hardships with utilities and I’m just excited about the fact that I can be of assistance to help these individuals stay in their homes and keep their lights on.”
Chatman also noted that roughly 99.9% of some of the hardships she and her team are seeing across the Delta and across the state have been due to COVID.
“A lot of them are those who have had their hours cut or jobs closed and so most of the hardships that we’re seeing have been due to the pandemic,” she added. “We’re actually trying to meet people where they are and for Boss Lady, it’s about trying to assist the people across the Mississippi Delta in their own environment, so, rather than have them come to us we’re coming to them.”
