DC is ready to clear 20,000 names from waitlist, and reopen public housing applications – WTOP News

Getting a voucher to reside in considered one of D.C.’s 8,000 public housing residences is hard. Ten years in the past, town’s housing authority froze the waitlist that was greater than 20 thousand individuals lengthy. Now, the division has a plan to reopen purposes.

In testifying to the D.C. Council Committee on Housing on Thursday, resident Ronald Smith spoke about how tough it has been for him to get everlasting housing for himself and his spouse.

“I’ve been on the waitlist for vouchers because the first week of January 2006,” Smith mentioned.

He’s not alone. There are 22,000 different names on the waitlist for vouchers which the D.C. Housing Authority froze in 2013.

On the shelter the place Smith and his spouse reside, he feels unsafe.

“My nerves are at all times on edge … I’m not joyful. I’ve gone and requested for assist, reached out, accomplished every part that I understand how to do,” he mentioned.

He can’t perceive why it’s taken so lengthy.

“I’m 76 years previous … When is my title gonna come up? After I’m lifeless?” he mentioned.

Hours later, when Housing Authority Government Director Brenda Donald took the mic to testify within the oversight listening to, she provided mild on the finish of the tunnel for candidates like Smith. Subsequent month, her workplace plans to vary its coverage and reopen the waitlist, permitting residents to pick their most popular housing location.

“It’s a way more focused method, and we predict that we might be extra nimble and that individuals who join will, you recognize, already expressed their curiosity within the items that we have now obtainable. And that is the place quite a lot of public housing jurisdictions throughout the nation do that, and it makes extra sense,” she mentioned to committee chair Robert White.

Nonetheless, there’s a catch. Donald testified that earlier than reopening the record, they first should attain out to everybody on the present waitlist to see if they’re eligible and or nonetheless want housing.

“What we found over the previous yr and a half of doing that is that there’s quite a lot of attrition, or mainly both no present or lack of curiosity, from individuals who’ve been on a waitlist for 25 or extra years.” Donald defined. “And households change. Somebody who was on the waitlist 25 years in the past who had 5 youngsters who wanted 4 bedrooms, now these youngsters have grown up and have moved out.”

Since assuming the position as director in the summertime of 2021, Donald mentioned 500 items have been renovated and are able to be occupied.

“There are already 19,000 individuals residing in public housing in Washington, D.C.,” she mentioned.

The authority hopes to have 1,200 newly renovated residences in whole obtainable by the tip of the yr.