Posted 8/15/01 HRA opens Section 8 waiting list By Jon Tatting, Isanti County News reporter Though people seeking housing relief wish to be anonymous, itís their situation that mirrors the need for affordable housing in Isanti and Chisago counties. The Cambridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority, for the first time since a year ago June, opened its waiting list Aug. 9 for the Section 8 rent assistance program. About 70 people showed up within the first hour and a half of the day-long preliminary application process. ìWeíre trying to help people who are rent burdened ñ those spending more than 50 percent of their income on rent ñ and homeless,î said Sandy Tischer, executive director of the HRA. ìBy doing this locally, weíre trying to give people more spendable income.î Between noon and late afternoon, people from Isanti and Chisago counties filled out pre-applications toward the Section 8 Vouchers program, a tenant-based rent assistance effort allowing low-income individuals and families to lease privately owned, market-rate units in participating communities. Under the program, people can pay 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities, while the HRA pays the balance of the rent monthly, using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop-ment (HUD). Yet, when the waiting list briefly opened last week, the HRA could only issue 10 vouchers, stretching the usual 58 voucher allotment per month to 68, Tischer said. Voucher requests will be chosen through a lottery system; applicants may not hear from the HRA on the status of their applications until after Sept. 1. ìWeíre purposefully overissuing vouchers now to prove the need in the area with hopes of receiving more funding,î said Tischer, adding there is no or limited emergency funding available in Isanti County. One retired couple, originally from the Cambridge-Isanti area, has been frustrated with rising rent costs on their subsidized, one-bedroom apartment in Wyoming. Within the first year theyíve lived there, rent has swelled because of factors such as increased heat costs. ìRent has gone up something terrible,î said the wife shortly after filling out a Section 8 application last week with her husband. The husband had mainly worked in the manufacturing business throughout a long career. Retiring at age 63 two years ago, he and his wife now depend on two small pensions and social security checks. Aside from paying rent, the couple has to carefully budget their money for other necessities such as groceries and medications. ìNow that Iím retired, thereís not a lot of money to work with,î he said. ìThey (local communities) need low income housing.î According to Tischer, the Section 8 waiting list opening coincides with the start of a new fiscal funding year. Agencies cannot qualify for more funding through HUD until all existing funding and available vouchers are used, she said. ©Post Review