In my last posting I talked about the PHA’s (Public Housing Authorities) and public housing. Today I would like to talk about the Housing Choice Voucher program, otherwise known as Section 8.
When a dear friend told me about the HCV program, I felt like I had “hit the jackpot”. For many years I had resided in Senior Citizen/Disabled units owned by a PHA. I had never in my life had a house or anything like that. The more I learned, the more I was impressed. Under Section 8, you have a lot more flexibility. You can choose where you want to live, choose from an apartment, condo, townhouse, or even house. The only restriction, per se, is that you must choose your home based on the bedroom size that your PHA assigns to you. Most singles and couples are assigned a one bedroom—unless you require someone to live with you, to assist you with your every day needs. (I will go more in-depth on this issue another time).
The HCV program, as you probably know, consists of PHA’s, landlords who own private properties, and tenants. One of the best things about the program is that once you are “in the system,” you can stay as long as you desire. Yes, there are a lot of rules and requirements. But I think it is SO worth it! Need to move to another state? NO PROBLEM. Go to your PHA and ask the procedures for portability.
What is portability? Portability is the ability to transfer your voucher from one city/state to another city or state. I really wish that my best friend Andy would have done this. Yes it can be a pain to deal with all the steps you have to take, but, to me, it’s entirely worth it, because now I can move back to
Houston so that I can be near my Mom as I have a lot of health issues. Being in the HCV program can be a big plus, because the motto of the program is to provide affordable, decent and safe housing for those in need.
One very important item that I must strongly suggest here: Whenever you have a voucher, please, please, PLEASE make sure you keep it in a safe place. Do not EVER lose your voucher for any reason. The procedures to replace it are very lengthy, and sometimes, even impossible. Guard it as if it is worth a million bucks! No, I know it’s not, but I am sure you know what I mean….
