Willow Glen Resident

News

100 Section 8 vouchers will be reserved for the homeless

By Monica Heger

The San Jose City council unanimously voted on April 4 to reserve 100 Section 8 housing vouchers each year for the chronically homeless.

Section 8 vouchers currently serve only those making an income and not the chronically homeless. The 2004 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey estimated that there were approximately 2,000 chronically homeless in San Jose.

Section 8 housing vouchers are federal subsidies that assist low-income families with rent. In order to qualify, a person must earn 50 percent or less of the area's median income. For an individual in Santa Clara County, this amounts to $37,150. Also, 75 percent of the vouchers must go to persons who earn 30 percent or less of the median area income, or $22,300. Participants use 30 percent of their income for rent, and the voucher covers the rest.

According to Mike Meyer, assistant director of the housing department, the council can modify the section 8 requirements to include housing for the homeless because while Section 8 is federally funded, it is administered locally.

"Under federal rules, local communities are able to establish within limits who can get vouchers," Meyer said. "The San Jose Housing Authority recently revised its administration plan that establishes its priorities, and they adopted a plan that would provide for the chronically homeless."

The council's decision falls just two weeks before the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County opens the voucher waiting list for the first time since 1999. The waiting list will be open from April 24-28.

The last time the waiting list was open, the housing authority received 27,000 applicants for vouchers. The housing authority has been working its way through the list since then and is now at a point where it can be reopened to accept new applicants.