People gather in front of San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. on May 10, 2019. (Daniel Montes/Bay City News)

San Franciscans struggling with housing insecurity during the pandemic will soon be able to dip into a $90 million fund set up to help with rent relief.

On Friday, the city’s new emergency rental assistance program will start accepting applications, according to an announcement from Mayor London Breed’s office.

The fund can provide up to six months of assistance, including three months of future rent.

To qualify, residents must have been eligible for unemployment benefits or experienced household income reduction because of the pandemic, demonstrate a risk of becoming homeless or experiencing housing insecurity and have a household income at or below 80 percent of the city’s median income of $102,450 for individuals and $146,350 for a family of four.

The city will prioritize people with incomes of 50 percent and 30 percent of the area’s median income.

Tenants interested in applying can visit: sf.gov/renthelp.

People who need help with their applications can reach out to the city’s community-based partners that can be found at sf.gov/renthelp, www.sfadc.org, or by calling 311.

A separate state rental assistance program can be found by visiting https://housing.ca.gov.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.