Topaz Villas in Jacksonville, Florida.

NEW YORK CITY- Multifamily lender Arbor Realty Trust and its ecosystem of borrowers and property owners are extending a hand to tenants and families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with the launch of a national $2 million rental assistance program. The Arbor Rental Assistance Program will act as supplemental income to existing government rent relief programs, using private capital to fill the loss of income for impacted families, David Lynd, CEO of multifamily development and management firm LYND, tells GlobeSt.com. LYND is an Arbor borrower.

"The apartments we finance are homes to millions of workers who comprise the backbone of this nation," said Ivan Kaufman, president and CEO of Arbor Realty Trust, in a prepared statement. "We're all in this together, and if we all come together to help, we can make a notable difference with an eye towards the future and a recovery from this unprecedented health crisis."

Arbor is partnering with its network of borrowers and property owners and is contributing $1 million to the program. Participating borrowers will match Arbor's advances to tenants that need help filling the rent gap for the months of May and June. All together, the partnership program will provide $2 million in relief.

ARAP will be available to tenants at the properties Arbor finances on a first-come, first-served basis. The program is an added resource to the stimulus checks issued as part of the CARES Act, a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package.

"The stimulus package is just not going to be enough in my opinion to get a lot of these people on the other side of this COVID virus. The reason being is they have a lot of obligations. Between a car payment and a rent payment, the $1,200 is probably gone," Lynd said. "I imagine people are saving their money for food and rent. On the hierarchy of needs, food and shelter are very important for people to survive."

LYND owns and operates more than 20,000 multifamily units across the country. Lynd Acquisitions Group, a LYND affiliate, and New York City-based Topaz Capital acquired Topaz Villas in Jacksonville, FL, last year. The 444-unit community is slated to receive the program benefits and residents who are facing economic hardship due to COVID-19 are eligible for the advances. "You can probably count on your hand the times in your life when somebody has actually gone out of their way to help you financially and that's something that really sticks in your brain," Lynd said. "On the part of Arbor, it is going to enhance Lynd's relationship with our residents and it's going to demonstrate our character in a time of need."

Arbor joins the legions of CRE firms that have set up programs to help their communities during the coronavirus. A similar initiative by Camden Property Trust established a $5 million Resident Relief Fund for Camden residents experiencing financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Within 20 minutes of opening the fund, Camden received more than 2,500 applications and had to close the fund.