Official Website of the Mescalero Apache Tribe

Homeowner Assistance Fund announcement & Emergency Rental Assistance update

by

Mescalero Apache tribal members living on and off reservation can pick up Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) applications at the tribal office. Approval is based on household income and priority is given to the elderly. We ask the elderly to apply by Friday November 5, 2021. Assistance is available for:

  1. Mortgage Payment Assistance
  2. Mortgage Principle Reduction
  3. Mortgage Reinstatement
  4. Mortgage Interest Rate Reduction
  5. Down Payment Assistance
  6. Home Insurance
  7. Property Tax
  8. Home Owner Association
  9. Utilities (electric, gas, phone, internet)
  10. Repairs to maintain habitability

Please fill out the application completely and clearly write your name, phone number, and email. Include your last paystub or 2020 tax return or annual government award letter as income verification.

Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) update

The Mescalero Apache Tribe’s ERA office received $2.8 million from the Treasury Department to help tribal members living on and off reservation stay in their homes and keep the lights on. We are spending approximately $200,000 a month paying rent and utility bills as well as providing hotel rooms for the working homeless for approximately 400 households. All ERA grant funds the Mescalero Apache Tribe received are obligated and will be spent by September 30, 2022 when the ERA office closes.

We stopped accepting ERA applications for tenants living off reservation on Friday October 8, 2021. The Treasury Department is considering reallocating funds from other ERA programs across the country who are unable to utilize all their funding. We made an informal request for additional funding.

A majority of the Mescalero Apache Tribe Housing Department (MATHD) tenants who applied for the ERA program were approved. We are working with MATHD to pay your rent. We are also working with Otero County Electric Co-op and MATI to send us a copy of your monthly bills for payment. If your application was approved, you no longer need to bring your utility bills to the ERA office. We also provided Mescalero Gas a copy of the approved MATHD tenants. When you order propane, please fill the tank and Mescalero Gas will send us the bill.

Tenants living off reservation, who were approved, please continue sending your utility bill upon receipt. We are paying those bills weekly.

All ERA recipients, the Mescalero Apache Tribe is setting you up for success. Please use this time to save as much money as possible. Early next year we will offer financial literacy classes to help you learn how to budget and save your money.  

COVID is a concern and it is spreading. We have a small office and many people walk in every day who need assistance. Do not enter the ERA office and a mask must be worn. We will meet with you in the West Conference room or the cafeteria.

On a final note, staff update. Erma Allard and Tracy Ahidley joined the team as Administrative Assistants last week. Cherissa Mangas was promoted to ERA Program Coordinator and she is available to address your questions and concerns.

Kenneth Ruthardt – Program Director, ERA & HAF

Print this entry

TRIBAL NEWS AND UPDATES