Emergency services such as rental and utility assistance often mean the difference between being housed and homelessness.

• The number of households using emergency payment services (utility and rental assistance) has dramatically decreased since 2002, when 619 households received utility assistance and 456 households received rental assistance. In 2006, 325 households received utility assistance and 315 households received rental assistance. Funds for these programs were cut during this period, which may explain the decrease in numbers served, not a decrease in need for services. In 2007, 250 households were provided emergency rental assistance.