(WGHP) — We first introduced you to Christian Anderson at Evangel Fellowship Church as she led a unity concert, but she hasn’t been immune to the effects of the pandemic. It’s been tough on her emotionally and financially.

“My trust and faith in God has kept through this entire pandemic,” she said.

She missed a rent payment, but when she was ready to pay, she says her property manager told her they would not accept payment.

“They told me they didn’t want my money,” she said.

That’s not what she expected to hear. She said that her property manager told her she was being served with eviction papers which confused her. She thought she had time.

Now that the eviction moratorium is over, our state is seeing a dramatic increase in eviction filings.

Help is available for rent and utililty payment assistance through Guilford Cares, Forsyth County ERAP and HOPE.

To qualify your household income should be less than 80% of the area median income. 

And even if eviction proceedings have already begun, it’s not too late. Laura Hogshead who oversees the HOPE program said, “What we hope is that it is both persuasive to the landlord and the judge that a tenant has taken the time to get all of the assistance that they can possibly get.”

In the end, Anderson decided to move to a new home, but she’s sharing her story to make sure people know that tenants have rights and that help is out there.

For more information about these community resources, visit the websites of Guilford CARES, Forsyth County Emergency Rent/Utilities Assistance for Low-Income Residents and North Carolina’s HOPE program.