Up to 150 Vermonters left homeless by Tropical Storm Irene will be eligible for special housing assistance, thanks to funding obtained by the Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA).
VSHA Executive Director Richard Williams said the state has received new funding for 150 so-called Section 8 low-income housing vouchers and has decided to direct the money toward victims displaced from their homes by the Aug. 28 storm.
“It’s exciting that we’re able to offer this,” he said.
Williams said that through discussions with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the state became eligible for approximately $1 million in additional monies for Section 8 vouchers. The Housing Authority has been seeking a federal waiver to direct those funds to victims of Irene but had to go through a 45-day process to make required amendments before it could approve the money for that use.
Officials met last Friday and won backing for the plan, Williams said, noting the Authority “got nothing but positive feedback.”
“We felt that these folks had suffered significantly and had been displaced, and therefore felt the preference was an appropriate response from our point of view,” he said.
The VSHA is also easing its eligibility requirements for Irene-related housing vouchers, Williams said. Typically, eligible Vermonters must have incomes at or below 50 percent of median income, but for Irene victims the limit was increased to 80 percent, he said. Williams noted many of those displaced were homeowners who might otherwise be above the income eligibility guidelines.
Typically, under the program, tenants will pay no more than 30 percent to 40 percent of their income for rental housing. VSHA will pick up the difference.
According to Williams, the VSHA has been contacted by 72 families seeking housing assistance so far, and “the phone continues to ring.” (Sign up information is available online or 802-828-3020). VSHA has already taken applications from 54 families, and around 18 were expected to be briefed on the program and the process this week, he said.
The award additional vouchers, which the Shumlin administration pushed for, is somewhat of a coup since Vermont has been capped for years at 3,782 vouchers and was not taking any more applications. The state was “maxed out” at $22.5 million for housing choice vouchers, Williams said, and the waiting list has been closed. The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is used by approximately 2.1 million people nationwide, according to HUD.
The 150 vouchers will be added to Vermont’s total and continue into the future, he said. They may help ease concerns for displaced homeowners and renters who may no longer be eligible for FEMA rental assistance.
FEMA spokesman Billy Penn in Burlington said that FEMA grants an initial two months of rental assistance based on average local rentals and then requires reapplication for an additional three months, with a total of up to 18 months assistance possible.
A total of 1,355 Vermonters have received rental assistance as of Nov. 3, he said, 872 for displaced homeowners and 483 for renters. FEMA had disbursed $2.3 million in rental assistance as of Oct. 27.
The vouchers, which are “portable” and can be used throughout the state, will provide long-term help for low-income renters and homeowners forced to move out after Irene. However, Williams said, actually finding housing may be difficult. Rental markets can be tight or nonexistent in some areas impacted by Irene, making it difficult for folks to find housing near where they work or their children go to school, Williams explained.
“That has been challenging, to find housing close to where they want to be,” he said.
The VSHA has numerous field reps who work with clients and maintain a listing of potential private rental properties that are eligible under the Section 8 guidelines, he said. Housing must meet certain fair market rental guidelines under the program.
“There is rental housing out there. The concern is, where is that rental housing?” he said.
