SEATTLE—September 1, 2005—Starting last month, over 140 households at the top of the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program got a nice surprise: a letter inviting them to complete the application process for a voucher.
After cost-reducing measures were approved by Seattle Housing's Board of Commissioners in July, Seattle Housing made the decision to begin issuing new vouchers. Due to the uncertainty of funding levels for the program over the past year, vouchers that were turned in by participants who no longer needed them were not re-issued.
“The exact number of vouchers we are able to issue will depend on the rate of cost-savings and the rate of attrition for current participants, but we hope to serve between 30 and 50 new households per month,” said Barbara Strayer, acting director of rental assistance programs.
Households with incomes below 30 percent of area median income ($16,350 for an individual, $18,700 for two people, up to $30,850 for an eight-person household) or households that have been homeless within the last 12 months will receive preference for a voucher. Applicants on the waiting list who do not meet that preference or who are no longer eligible will not be invited to complete the application process for a voucher.
Waiting times for applicants will vary, since the status of applicant households is constantly changing. Last month's applicants included families who applied for a voucher and got on the waiting list between 1993 and 2001.
The new voucher holders will be subject to tighter occupancy standards than in the past, and some will experience a small reduction in payment standards. “The subsidy levels are a little less generous now, but families who finally get vouchers will see their housing options expand considerably,” Strayer noted.
It could take years to house the 2,700 low-income families on the waiting list, but applicants are still anxiously waiting their turn.
As one applicant commented at the recent public hearing, “I am on the waiting list. I make $700 a month, I have 3 kids and my one- and two- year olds sleep with me. I don't care what amount I get, anything is better than nothing!”
Seattle Housing Authority does not have plans to open the waiting list to new applicants at this time.