Sept. 11 Memorial Ceremony
Category: Communities
Welcoming Week starts today, with Taco Royale along Central Avenue
Welcoming Week will start today, Sept. 10, with Taco Royale along Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Welcoming Week event, which continues through Sept. 19, spotlights and celebrates the contributions and achievements of immigrants to the Greater Kansas City community, according to a spokesman.
The event today is supported by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, REACH Healthcare Foundation, Central Avenue Betterment Association and Open Belly Podcast.
The Welcoming Week also receives support from Welcoming KC, a group of nonprofits, businesses and civic agencies working to make Greater Kansas City an official designated Welcoming City through Welcoming America.
The kickoff event is today’s Taco Royale taco crawl, celebrating and supporting immigrant-owned restaurants along KCK’s Central Avenue.
“Welcoming Week is our opportunity to shine a spotlight on the social, civic and economic benefits of being welcoming to all. As a founding partner and coalition member for Welcoming KC, the REACH Foundation is proud to work alongside nonprofit, business and civic groups to ensure immigrants and other newcomers are embraced by our community.” Carla Gibson, vice president of programs, REACH Healthcare Foundation.
“Immigrants play a vital role in the KC economy, said Joe Reardon, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “They are entrepreneurs, small business owners, and spend $3.5 billion per year across Greater Kansas City. We are thrilled to play a part in making our community more welcoming to immigrants and refugees, and to support these immigrant-owned, small businesses as part of Taco Royale.”
Taco Royale is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, beginning at Bethany Park, 1120 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Registrants will receive a map and a bracelet identifying them as part of Taco Royale, that gets them a specialty taco at each of the participating restaurants:
• El Menudazo KC
• Taqueria El Torito
• Taqueria 7 Leguas
• Taqueria Los Altos de Jalisco
• Tacos el Tio
• GG’s Barbacoa Café
• El Rio Bravo Supermarket
• Paleteria Nevelandia
• The Sugar Skull Grill
• Panaderia y Tortilleria Lluvia
• Las Gorditas
• Pasteleria Osuna
• El Jefe Taqueria
The admission charge is $30, and includes one taco at 15 different restaurants.
For details and a full list of Welcoming Week events visit https://www.kcchamber.com/what-we-do/welcoming-kc. Registration closes at 2 p.m.
BPU now helping with KERA rental and utility application process
Rent, utility and internet-access assistance offered
The Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance (KERA) program was launched on March 15. This state program is accepting applications to provide rent, utility, and internet-access assistance to households experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The KERA program application deadline is May 1, 2022.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will help in the application process by verifying if the household qualifies for assistance, will review the requirements and documents needed for renters and landlords to apply and will track their application status after the application is submitted, a BPU spokesman stated.
Customers needing assistance in the application process may call a special dedicated line at 913-573-9123 or email at kera@bpu.com and a BPU KERA advocate will assist them in this detailed application process.
The KERA assistance covers up to 12 months of rent and rental arrears (money past due), up to three months of prospective rent at a time, even if the household does not have rental arrears, and past due residential utility and home energy (electric, gas, water, sewer and trash services), and internet costs.
The KERA program is funded through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, which provided the state of Kansas nearly $200 million in rental assistance funding. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) serves as the administrator of the majority of these funds through the KERA program.
Those eligible to apply include tenants who rent their home, tenants whose 2020 household income did not exceed 80% of the area’s median income, households where at least one member is experiencing documented financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, or at least one member of the household is uncertain of where they will stay or may become homeless without housing assistance.
To apply for the program, both the tenant and their landlord must apply online via a joint application process. The landlord completes online certification and the tenant submits the online application. The landlord and tenant are then notified when the application is processed. If approved, the landlord and or/service provider receive funds directly from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). The landlord and or/service provider than applies assistance to the tenant’s account.
To learn more about the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance Program, the qualification and application process, visit the KHRC website at https://kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance/ or call them at 785-217-2001.
The process after application for BPU customers: When a customer makes an application for these funds from the state of Kansas, the customer will receive a proof of prequalified application notice back from the state just identifying the application as submitted.
Applicants must notify BPU Customer Service as soon as they receive the email application notice from the state. BPU will allow the customer to receive service for 30 days or more without disconnection while it works with the state of Kansas to gain a better understanding of the KERA’s process and adjust accordingly.
If the customer’s prequalified application is rejected, the customer must also contact BPU and the utility will advise the customer on making application for other assistance they may qualify for. When BPU customers receive their application notice, they should not only call customer service at 913-573-9190 but also send their notice from the state to docs@bpu.com.
BPU customers are encouraged to stay current with their bills to avoid getting too far behind and if anyone has any BPU billing or customer service questions, they can call 913-573-9190 and a utility representative is available to assist, the BPU spokesman stated.
- Information from BPU