State housing agency pauses program for homeless, low-income families

Todd Heywood
·3 min read

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Starting Monday, the Housing Choice Voucher program, formerly known as Section 8, will no longer accept new applications. And those who are already on the list, particularly people experiencing homelessness, will not be recertified.

Michigan State Housing Development Authority officials report federal funding from Housing and Urban Development for this year was “about $8 million short of keeping up with rising housing costs in Michigan.” The funding sent to the state, officials said in a news release Friday, was equivalent to a 6% reduction in funding.

“At a time when Michigan is gaining traction in addressing our housing challenges, this reduction in funding will only take us backward and make things worse for our most vulnerable neighbors,” MSHDA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Amy Hovey said in a press release. “We will collaborate with HUD to monitor expenses and explore cost-saving measures within the HCV program, but it’s ultimately up to Congress to address this shortfall before it exacerbates housing insecurity and homelessness in our state and across the country.”

FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2020, file photo, men hold up signs at a rally outside of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., in support of more housing. California lawmakers have failed to pass the most ambitious proposal yet to combat a growing housing crisis in the nation’s most populous state, voting down legislation Wednesday, Jan. 29, that would have overridden local zoning laws to let developers to build small apartment buildings in neighborhoods reserved for single-family homes. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Those who are currently receiving vouchers will not be impacted by this policy shift, officials confirm.

A source who works with vouchers says more than 300 people are currently on the Ingham County voucher waiting list.

Currently, anyone who is qualified for the program is allowed to get on a waiting list for funding and housing to become available. Every 90  to 120 days, those applicants have to re-certify their qualifications and needs. But under the new rules, re-certifications will not happen, dropping people from the wait list.

MSHDA-HUD HCV shortfall releaseDownload

The move will “impact will be felt hardest by those experiencing homelessness or housing instability,” the agency reported in the news release and in a letter sent to agencies working with the homeless community 6 News obtained. MSDHA officials confirmed the authenticity of the letter Friday in an email.

“We have been concerned about the HUD budget for many months,” wrote Josh Pugh, Director of External Affairs at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, in an email to 6 News. “We traveled to DC to engage with our Congressional delegation on this and other issues in March, and regularly speak with Congressional members and their staff about the HUD budget. We remain alarmed about proposals to cut HUD’s budget while we are in a nationwide housing crisis. Nothing could be more counterproductive, and will only further hurt Michigan families who are struggling with the impacts of the housing crisis on their monthly housing costs.”

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