Emergency Housing Vouchers

A tenant had made some mistakes in the past and had a criminal record that haunted him for the past 15 years. Since then, he has stayed out of trouble and was desperately trying to make a life for himself working dead end jobs and wondering where he would lay his head at night. He had been denied housing time and time again due to his background and unstable income. He had been homeless for over 15 months and was spending most of his paychecks staying at hotels to keep safe and warm. Eventually money ran out and he began staying at the Haven of Rest. During this time, he also found out that he was going to be a father and the mother would be unable to provide for their child. This is when he heard about the Emergency Housing Voucher program and completed an application. Today this gentleman is housed in a two-bedroom unit, in a safe neighborhood, and was recently awarded full custody of his child.

During a check-in phone call, this tenant eagerly stated that his life is forever changed now that he has the voucher. He says he now has an opportunity to be the father he wants to be to his son. He looks forward to being able to take his son out in the yard and play ball when the weather permits. He also wants to thank everyone who made this opportunity possible and urges us to keep up the good work. When asked, the tenant's final comment on his story was "Life looked very dark until the emergency housing voucher came along."

AMHA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Summit County Continuum of Care and Battered Women’s Shelter to issue Emergency Housing Vouchers. We are also working with United Way’s centralized intake system and homeless outreach providers to house the most vulnerable families. With these vouchers we received additional funds for services, which allowed us to hire a Housing Resource Specialist to assist these families with their housing searches. The additional funds HUD provided can also be used for landlord incentives, application fees and other move-in supports. We received 78 referrals, issued 49 vouchers, and housed 28 families through the end of 2021.

NSPIRE PILOT

The Real Estate Assesment Center has extended the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Demonstration program through April 30, 2023 for public housing. In late 2019, REAC began the two-year, voluntary demonstration to better identify potential adjustments to standards, protocols, and processes prior to nationwide implementation. Our agency conducted its first inspection under the NSPIRE Demonstration program at Spicer Terrace on October 25, 2021. The inspection went well, and we were able to provide good feedback to HUD.