What is section 8?


Section 8 is a Housing Authority Voucher program. A program that began during the Great Depression to help housing crisis in 1960s and 1970s in assisting low income families pay their rent.

Housing Authority would select families from the waiting list. A list of people who waited up to 5 years. Once they called you, you would be placed in a subsidized unit and determine what was your share to pay, which was 30% of your income, as the rest was paid by the Federal Government. I believe it is 40% of your income now.

Most of these families under this program would have to abide and qualify by the rules given to them in order to receive a voucher. Their incomes were checked every year and every year an investigator would come to check the house or apartment to make sure it was up to their standards. As the general rule was “All subsidized houses or apartment must meet Federal Housing Quality Standards to ensure families have a healthy and safe place to live.”

Now that you understand what section 8 is, let me tell you why I am talking about it. I had the opportunity to help a friend out who has section 8. She is a single mom with four kids and needs to move out due to the fact the owner of the house she lives in wants to sell the house.

She gave HUD (Housing Authority) her notice but wait, she gave them an advance notice of 90 days. Her last day was supposed to be October 30, 2006. She kept calling her case worker and after calling three – four times she finally got a hold of her on October 20, 2006. So what happen during this whole time? Why did she not call her back? The case worker excused herself by stating that she knew who my friend was, and could not get the voucher number. She just forgot to generate the papers for her to pick up.

Being stressed out with my friend, I decided to go with her and check some of this places that accept section 8. Let me tell you that this is not “Federal Housing Quality Standards and safe place to live”, so what is the meaning of “quality and safe” for the Federal government?

Some of these homes had toilets in front of the lawn and old junk cars. Once you entered these houses or apartments for rent you could immediately smell mildew and most were located in a bad neighborhood.

We saw gangster selling drugs, alcoholics coming out of houses and once you looked in Kelly’s Law website of all registered molesters around that area, let me tell you multiples live in the same street or around the corner!

My friend started to cry because she was living in a nice, quiet, safe and perfect place for her kids to live in. I gave her a hug and told her to not give up and have faith. So we continue to search and search.

We found a house that was being remodeled but the owner was asking to much for rent, which Housing Authority will not pay. Second, we found a duplex and it was nice but the owner wanted to much for deposit. Finally, the tenants of both houses liked my friend that they kept calling her in order to work something out with the deposit and try to negotiate with HUD. Now it is up to her to choose as she has two weeks till she moves out.

I do not want to give you a bad impression about section 8, although the Federal government has built nice subsidized apartments but have you gone inside these places? The rooms are the size of a prison cell, especially those with 3-4 bedrooms. Once I entered the apartment I felt like I was in a tiny box with no room to even breath or move.

So next time you hear someone call you and ask you if you accept section 8: think about it and just listen.

One important thing to remember its guaranteed money and you won’t ever be told “I DO NOT HAVE THE RENT!”

I just hope that many of you stop thinking that it’s a program for losers, druggies or people that do not care about their families, who take advantage of the system. Yes, there are those who do but I know someone who really needs it. She does not fall in any of these categories but is a wonderful person with goals and is almost done with school.