Santa Clara County will earmark 100 vouchers for chronically
homeless
Morgan Hill – For the first time in seven years, applications for Section-8 low income housing vouchers will be accepted by the Santa Clara County Housing Authority.
It’s the first time the vouchers will be set aside for the chronically homeless.
“That’s a very good thing,” said Margaret Gregg, the county’s homeless concerns coordinator. “Typically these are the folks that don’t access the system at all and this is a way to get them into permanent housing that will be supportive.”
The vouchers help pay rent in private apartments and the amount varies according to applicants’ income.
Section 8 is a federally funded housing program with roots in the Great Depression. It works through a voucher program wherein eligible families find housing and pay a fixed portion of their income, usually 30 percent, with the rest covered by the county housing agency. There are about 16,000 families in the county in Section 8 housing, which is all-privately owned. Individuals with annual incomes as high as $37,150 are eligible for the program. The limit for a family of four is $53,050.
Without additional funding from Washington D.C., the county can not offer new vouchers, so applicants must wait for people to drop out of the system. About 75 people a month leave Section 8 housing.
The 600 people remaining on the waiting list will receive vouchers before new applicants. New applicants will be chosen through a random computerized drawing.
How do I apply?
Applications will be accepted for five days only, April 24-28. Instructions will be available at www.hacsc.org, beginning April 16. They will also be published in the April 18 editions of the Gilroy Dispatch and Morgan Hill Times.
