Government Housing Assistance: Application and Eligibilty Information

How to Apply for Government Housing Assistance

By: Pam Grundy

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Foreclosure rates have hit an all time high in the U.S., and many people are out of work or homeless. Tent cities are springing up on the edges of major metropolitan areas. How can you find subsidized housing, Section 8 housing, or rental assistance before you need it, so you don’t end up on the streets when times get hard?
Applying for government housing assistance can be frustrating, and the process can be lengthy. The earlier you get started the better the chances you will be able to receive help in a timely fashion.
Becoming familiar with what kind of help is available and what the requirements are for the various programs is a good place to start. Help is available, but most programs have income limits and various other requirements, so knowing where to go and what to have ready when you apply is important. The following resources will help you get started:

Check the HUD Website

Most parts of the U.S. do have public housing and subsidized housing available through the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD website contains a wealth of information on housing and rental assistance, as well as charts showing income requirements and downloadable applications. You can search the HUD site for low-rent Section 8 apartments by state or you can search for public housing.

Make an Appointment With a HUD-Approved Housing Counselor

If you are about to lose your home to foreclosure and have nowhere to go, or are struggling to keep a roof over your head for any other reason, you can make an appointment to go over your situation with a HUD-approved counselor at no charge. A HUD counselor can review your financial situation, refer you to appropriate agencies and services, and in some cases can even contact your lender on your behalf. If you are in danger of foreclosure you can make an appointment by calling 1-888-995-HOPE.

Check Your State Website

Even if you qualify for federal government housing or Section 8 housing through HUD, in many parts of the country the waiting list to get into these rentals can be two years or longer. Chances are you need help much sooner than that.
Some states, i.e. Texas, have a website set up for state assistance, and most states will at least have a housing and development division. If you can’t find your state’s website, open your phone book to the blue pages (where government offices are listed) and start calling.

Call Your County and City Officials

Most counties and many cities have emergency funds available for citizens who find themselves in extreme circumstances and can’t qualify for federal assistance, or can qualify but are faced with a long wait. Often, county assistance comes in the form of a cash allotment. Although this is not easy to get, it is still worth asking for it when other avenues fail.

New York City, for example, has its own affordable housing programs through the New York City Housing Development Corporation. Also, Yolo County in Southern California has a Short Term Emergency Aid Committee set up to address these kinds of concerns. The Tenant Resource Center in Madison, Wisconsin is a locally run volunteer program to help people find affordable housing.

Because these programs are organized locally, the only way to find them is to start searching the web and making some local calls.

Contact the United Way You can call 211 from any Verizon phone and talk with a volunteer who will look for United Way programs in your specific locale.
The United Way is a national organization that raises money locally to provide charitable programs for people in need. You can also search their database and get information at the United Way website. Simply type in your zip code, state, or city, and a list of community resource call centers will appear. Call the number and explain your situation for a referral to local charitable organizations

Apply for a Habitat for Humanity House

Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates homes for people in need of affordable housing. You can apply for help by calling their help line at 800-422-4828 or searching for the program nearest you at Habitat for Humanity website.

Call Your Church

If you are a member of an organized religion or local church, call your pastor, rectory, or minister and explain your situation. Sometimes the help you need is only a phone call away. Many churches are committed to community activism to alleviate poverty and hardship, but even if your church has no organized program to help with the local housing problem, it never hurts to ask directly for what you need. If you don’t ask, you can’t get.

Check With Your Local Homeless Center, YWCA, YMCA, Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul Society, or Goodwill Industries

All of these organizations provide emergency housing for people in trouble. While the help they offer is usually temporary in nature (that is, they probably won’t set you up with an affordable apartment immediately), they have years of experience in dealing with homelessness and poverty, and will almost certainly at least be able to make a referral or hook you up with someone who can set you on a productive path.

Search Online for Independent Rental Opportunities

If HUD cannot approve you for government subsidized housing because your income is too high or for some other reason; and if your search for state, county, or local aid has come up empty-handed, you can still search for inexpensive rentals on your own by visiting any of the apartment (and rental house) search engines online and typing the lowest possible rent.
Some good sites are:

Call your Congressperson

Homelessness is at a record high in the United States, and the foreclosure crisis is making it worse by the day. Find out who your Congressional representative is, and if all else fails, call that person’s office and keep calling that office until you get some assistance. While this may seem like and extreme measure, it really isn’t. Congresspersons are used to being asked directly for help by their constituents, and often the only way change happens is when a Congressperson gets a flood of calls about a problem back home and demands change in Washington. Find your local congressperson at the Congress.org directory.

Time to Get Started

Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute to address your affordable housing issue. The problem of affordable housing is at a crisis level in the U.S. right now, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to just give up before you even start; quite the opposite. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” is an old saying that has never been truer than it is today. Start by calling HUD at 888-995-HOPE and making an appointment with a housing counselor. If that doesn’t result in immediate help, start calling your state, county, and city officials and then local volunteer and community organizations and help lines. Call your church, call your Congressperson and call your friends. Call and keep calling until you get the help you need.

Then, once you locate that help and find yourself an affordable place to live, consider volunteering a bit of your time or money to help others do the same.

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