Here's a thing that happened to a disabled friend:
They applied for rental assistance back in April of this year. They had to be behind in rent to apply. They sent in their application as instructed.
The program was so backed up that it took 6 months to process their application. Meanwhile, they're getting further & further in the hole.
Follow
In October, they got a decision: assistance was denied. They called the program to find out why. "You had a duplicate application", said the program. "You'll have to re-apply."
"OK", said friend, "can I do that now?"
"No," said program. "Our program closed in August. You'll have to wait until next year."
This area is known for being broadly liberal, w/a lot of folks into social justice & active in local government. That's true, but it's also slow & conservative in some ways & this sort of bureaucratic trap is extremely common.