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Demand for housing vouchers in Pittsburgh spikes after waitlist reopens
Allegheny County received nearly 12,000 Section 8 applications in 5 daysPittsburgh Post-Gazette link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/social-services/2024/03/20/section-8-housing-voucher-pittsburgh-waiting-list/stories/202403200096
When Pittsburgh reopened its waiting list for Housing Choice Vouchers last week for the first time since 2018, officials received nearly 12,000 applications in just days.
Devon Goetze, one of those who sees the region’s affordable housing crisis daily, wasn’t surprised. “It shows that the need is not getting better,” said Ms. Goetze, director of housing services at Auberle, a nonprofit that provides shelter and other human services across Western Pennsylvania. “The housing situation is not getting better in Pennsylvania or Pittsburgh.”
The Housing Choice Voucher program is the federal government's major program for helping low-income families afford housing in the private market. Participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program, which is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
...
The demand for housing comes at a time when cost of rent is reaching record levels, yet there aren’t enough low-cost units to go around. The city of Pittsburgh has calculated that there is a shortage of 8,200 units affordable to households at or below 30% of the area median income, or $28,450 for a family of four. Advocates give much larger estimates, upward of 26,000.
- more at link -
Devon Goetze, one of those who sees the region’s affordable housing crisis daily, wasn’t surprised. “It shows that the need is not getting better,” said Ms. Goetze, director of housing services at Auberle, a nonprofit that provides shelter and other human services across Western Pennsylvania. “The housing situation is not getting better in Pennsylvania or Pittsburgh.”
The Housing Choice Voucher program is the federal government's major program for helping low-income families afford housing in the private market. Participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program, which is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects.
...
The demand for housing comes at a time when cost of rent is reaching record levels, yet there aren’t enough low-cost units to go around. The city of Pittsburgh has calculated that there is a shortage of 8,200 units affordable to households at or below 30% of the area median income, or $28,450 for a family of four. Advocates give much larger estimates, upward of 26,000.
