EVEN WITH A HOUSING VOUCHER, METRO MAN FACES

Endless Barriers To Find Disabled Grandson A Home

stipend for people with disabilities, called Supplemental Security

Since then, however, Vonesh has learned that a voucher is not a guaranteed ticket to housing.

“It’s not easy,” he said, gesturing at a pile of paperwork full of handwritten notes and math problems. “Even now, with all this homework that I have, I still am never quite sure about all the exact steps.” rough his deep dive into the program and its many intricacies, Vonesh has uncovered a system with pitfalls at every turn. Sometimes, these challenges come from administrative complexities of the program. Other times, they are rooted his social interactions, have made it challenging for him to make friends over the years. Vonesh said that causes Justin to be sad sometimes, making the daily visits even more important.

As Vonesh has worked tirelessly to nd a home for his grandson, housing advocates have taken steps to strengthen laws meant to protect people like Justin.

“If I don’t go up there, he’s just by himself,” he said.

As Vonesh gets older, the long drive is becoming more challenging.

“It’s hard on me,” he said. “I’m getting old and that tra c is dangerous … so I’d like to get him closer. Otherwise, I’m telling him, we’re just gonna have to gure out some days a week that I take o .” about a year and a half after applying for the rent subsidization program. He was luckier than many, as some people wait on lists for years — sometimes more than a decade — before being selected for the program that’s part of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. e program, sometimes known as Section 8, aims “to help very lowincome families, the elderly and the disabled a ord decent, safe and sanitary housing,” according to HUD.

But Vonesh has had little luck since he began searching for a closer apartment eight months ago. Because Justin has a voucher, moving is a complicated process that involves a staggering number of considerations.

Justin is both low-income and disabled in the eyes of the government. His income was about $800 per month — less than 7% of the area median income in his county — when he applied for a voucher. is money came from a monthly

A new law on this front, which goes into e ect this month, has resulted in resistance from Colorado landlords. While they concede that people with housing vouchers can struggle to nd a place, they say the problem should be addressed by making the program more economically attractive — not mandating how landlords interact with it.

Moving Justin closer Vonesh has been living in the same Arvada home for over 50 years. Since his wife passed away a few years ago, he divides his time between taking care of his dog, Jasper, and his grandson.

“Jasper in the morning, Justin in the afternoon,” he said.

Justin’s disabilities, which impact

First, prospective apartments need to qualify under a payment standard set by HUD. at means the unit, plus utilities, has to be at or under a speci c price.

Once Vonesh nds an apartment at the correct rate in a desired area, there has to be a vacancy that lines up with the end of Justin’s current lease. He also has to add time for a federally mandated inspection of the unit.

If the new apartment is in a different county, Vonesh would need to transfer Justin’s rental subsidy across housing authority lines. e process is possible, but it adds extra steps that take time. In a fast-paced rental market where landlords want tenants con rmed as quickly as possible, the timeline of these extra