A local property management company is stepping up to help its tenants who are financially struggling due to COVID-19.
Peace Of Mind Management (POMM) has set up a fund to help tenants who are struggling to make rent as the virus has left many people out of work and or awaiting possible emergency benefits.
“There was a lot of concern expressed to us from tenants and from the owners of these properties about not being able to pay rent and how the owners would be able to adjust to that or deal with that,” says Jonathan Wilkins, owner of POMM.
“Right after the state of emergency, before any of the government funding was announced, we heard a lot of concerns from our tenants saying that they lost their jobs or they had a couple of part-time jobs and they had lost one of those jobs. Their concern was they didn’t know how they were going to be able to pay their rent.”
The phone calls from tenants got Wilkins and his team thinking about what they could do to help ease some of the financial stress.
“After some brainstorming, we decided that Peace Of Mind was able to donate $2,500 to the fund,” says Wilkins. “Then all of our staff, including those that were laid oft topped up that initial fund up to $3,000.”
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But they didn’t stop there. POMM also reached out to the property owners themselves to see if they would be willing to help the tenants who call their buildings home.
“When we reached out to the owners, the ask was for $10 a door. So for example, if we had a client who owned a 10-unit building, we were asking for a donation of $100,” says Wilkins. “We had 95 percent buy-in and most of those owners contributed significantly more than $10 a door. Some did $200 a door indirect funding to our tenant relief fund.”
Some building owners decided to offer more direct support to their tenants, including waiving their rent or giving them 50 percent off.
“I wasn’t surprised that the majority of our clients wanted to do something. I was pleasantly surprised that the majority did more than what the ask was,” says Wilkins.
“I think oftentimes landlords can get a bad name where they’re there to collect rents and not do anything else. They are not looking for any recognition, they just did what they felt was right and were pleased that their management company was spearheading something like that.”
The fund is now approaching $15,000, which continues to grow thanks to donations from POMM’s third party suppliers and the public donation button on the company’s website.
“We’re also seeing some smaller donations from people who’ve maybe seen it on social media and said, ‘wow what a great cause, I’d like to donate to that,’” says Wilkins. “We are seeing a little bit of funding coming through the donation button on our website as well.”
POMM’s tenants are able to apply for funding online through its website. Wilkins says they’ve received about 20 applications so far and they’re currently trying to finalize a partnership with the Saint John Community Loan Fund and Housing Alternatives, which will review the applications and distribute the funds on POMM’s behalf. He says the goal is to have the fund last over the next several months.
“We want to help out those most in need today and then hold some of that fund, or if the fund continues to grow, then we will have more for the coming months,” says Wilkins. “If for some reason if the economy gets back to normal and there is not a need in our community of tenants then we would look at other non-profit organizations to donate the remaining funds to.”
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
