Click Here for the short form if you already received assistance and would like to apply for another month of help

Haga clic aquí para obtener el formulario breve si ya recibió asistencia y desea solicitar otro mes de ayuda

CLICK HERE if you are a first time applicant

CLIC AQUÍ si es un solicitante por primera vez

*** If you do not hear back from OPAL after applying, please be sure to check your SPAM folder ***

Apply for Rent or Mortgage Assistance

In response to the COVID-19 closures, Orcas Island Community Foundation has created an emergency fund to help people while they are out of work. OPAL is partnering with OICF and San Juan County to distribute emergency housing assistance to help people cover their rent or mortgage during the shutdown.

Funding to pay rents or mortgages has been provided by individual donors and grants from San Juan County.  Our goal is to help as many islanders as possible, which means any one individual may not receive the full amount of their request, but most people will receive some help. As long as funding is available, OPAL will distribute funds based on the following criteria:

1. You are out of work or have lost income because of COVID closures or COVID related restrictions.
2. Your rent or mortgage payment is 40% or more of your current income or your current income is 80% of Area Median Income* or less.
3. You need to make the current or last month’s payment.
4. There is a cap of $1,350 per month for rents and $1,500 for mortgages.
5. We are currently reviewing one month of assistance at a time.
6. We recognize that unemployment payments continue to be difficult for some.
7. Applications are processed in the order received and prioritized as follows:
   1. You are late on your payment
   2. You need to pay the current month
   3. You need to pay next month

*80% of Area Median Income by Household Size: