Boston, MA – Metro Housing is pleased to announce that it has made significant progress in eliminating the backlog of approximately 8,000 applications to the RAFT program for rental assistance. With new resources made available by the Commonwealth, we have hired 50 permanent and temporary staff since late October, enabling us to clear this backlog from the first stage of the application process.
This means that RAFT applicants that submitted their application online have been contacted by a Metro Housing staff person and been informed of the next appropriate step.
The addition of the new staff has resulted in nearly 1,300 completed applications moving forward to the processing stage. While reviewing the backlog of applications, more than 6,200 were found to be incomplete. These applicants have been asked to submit more detailed information.
Metro Housing is now responding to all new RAFT applications within two business days. However, with the large number of applications now being processed, applications may take from two to six weeks, depending on whether they are submitted with all documentation before proceeding to the confirmation and payment stage. Just as the original backlog was cleared up over the last four weeks, Metro Housing expects this backlog to be cleared in the coming weeks as the staff are trained and reassigned to these new tasks.
About Metro Housing|Boston
Serving more than 25,000 households annually, Metro Housing|Boston is dedicated to mobilizing wide-ranging resources to provide innovative and personalized services that assist families in avoiding homelessness, maintain housing stability, and achieve economic security. With more than 30 years’ experience piloting and implementing housing programs, it has solidified their position as an industry-leading expert on navigating the affordable housing field. Metro Housing|Boston is committed to making sure that every person in Greater Boston will always have a place to call home. Visit www.metrohousingboston.org, facebook.com/MetroHousingBoston , or follow on Twitter at @MetroHousingBos.
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