As Houston poverty increases, 1000s apply for housing help

Voucher program overwhelmed

David Crossley, Aug 21, 12.

The applications started pouring in at 8 am on Monday, straining the server at the Houston Housing Authority and translating into tangible terms what so many already know: Thousands of Houstonians are in dire need of affordable housing, says a story in the Houston Chronicle:

By 3:30 pm, more than 33,000 online applications had flooded in, each representing a family hoping for a spot on a waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8 housing. On average, the vouchers pay about $650 monthly toward the tenant’s rent.

Housing authority officials expect to receive more than 125,000 applications - six times the number of slots available - by the time the application period ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

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Poverty increasing

The flood of applicants also reflects the increasing number of Houstonians living in poverty, said Henneberger.

A 2011 Brookings Institution study found that the number of Houston-area residents living in extremely poor neighborhoods nearly doubled over the past decade.

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Photo: Ben Tecumseh DeSoto, from Understanding Poverty