EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - The Doña Ana County program that provided rent and utility assistance to renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for over three years, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), will close on Dec. 31 and will no longer accept applications, the County announced in a news release. The County said all qualified applications received before this deadline will be processed and paid out. In early 2021, Doña Ana County received $34 million as a grant to cover rent and utility payments as part of a national effort to help renters facing financial hardships brought on by the pandemic, according to the news release. The County said the grant total also includes funds to pay for the administration of the program by ERAP employees. So far, the County's ERAP program, which was funded through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has "distributed almost $28 million to help with rent and utilities for 2,500 households following a difficult financial time where pay was reduced, layoffs occurred, and many businesses closed." To qualify, residents are required to show how the pandemic impacted their loss of income, according to the County. "As we move further away from the pandemic, the ERAP office has seen a decline in applications. At the conclusion of the program, the County will seek to reallocate any remaining funds to support housing stability through other community partners, as is allowed by the grant," read the news release. “Doña Ana County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program has been a lifeline for many during the pandemic,” Board Chair Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez said. “We are proud to have played a role in assisting our residents, ensuring that families and individuals could remain safely housed during a period that was scary and uncertain for us all.”