Applications open for Juneau’s direct pandemic relief payments

A woman crosses Marine Way in front of Juneau City Hall on Sept. 25, 2017. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)

Beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, qualified Juneau residents who have been financially hurt by the pandemic can apply for $1,000 or more in new grants.

Adult residents earning up to $58,900 a year are eligible. Payments begin at $1,000 and scale up to $2,000 based on income. Eligible residents can also get an extra $300 per dependent child.

The Juneau Assembly committed $2 million of its share of federal CARES Act relief money to the program. The program will run on a first-come, first-served basis until the money runs out, or time runs out.

The city’s CARES Act money expires at the end of the year. So there’s a time crunch to process applications, which are due Dec. 18, and cut checks.

Catholic Community Service is running the program. Executive Director Erin Walker-Tolles said as long as the pandemic-related financial impact occurred between March and the end of 2020, there shouldn’t be a problem cutting checks in January.

“Please make sure that you note how you were financially impacted by COVID-19,” Walker-Tolles said. “That means reduced hours at work, furloughed or laid off from work, or increased expenses such as child care. … Write them down so that we know that you have expenses you need help with so we can cut a check.”

Electronic applications will be available at the Catholic Community Service website. Hard copies will be available at City Hall and city libraries.

The application period for a similar but separate housing and utility relief program closes after Saturday. That one is worth up to $3,000 per qualified household.

Jeremy Hsieh

Local News Reporter, KTOO

I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Read next

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications