EVEN WITH A HOUSING VOUCHER, METRO MAN FACES ENDLESS BARRIERS TO FIND DISABLED GRANDSON A HOME

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 in discrimination.

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.

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.

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 low-income families, the elderly and the disabled a ord decent, safe and sanitary housing,” according to HUD.

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 stipend for people with disabilities, called Supplemental Security Income. 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

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 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.

“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 .”

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.

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,

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 steps can complicate options.

Add those requirements to the personal desires any person may have for an apartment — like in-unit laundry or a place to sit outside — and Vonesh has a puzzle on his hands.

It is a puzzle that gets more challenging when some landlords, Vonesh says, won’t even take a glance at Justin’s application.

“I have lost count of the apartment managers who told (me) that they don’t accept (vouchers)” since Justin got a voucher in 2018, Vonesh said. “ ey don’t want to deal with the bureaucracy and perceived problems with low-income renters.”

Discrimination over source of income e apartment managers who told Vonesh they wouldn’t accept housing choice vouchers — if they said so after January 2021 — could have been breaking the law. at’s when House Bill 20-1332 took e ect, outlawing housing discrimination based on a person’s source of income. e state law added this category to other protected classes including disability, race, color, creed, familial status and more.

In practice, this law means landlords in Colorado with more than three rental units must accept housing choice vouchers. ey cannot use Justin’s federal aid as a reason to turn him away.

Despite facing this issue, Vonesh never led a complaint with state ofcials. e process seemed cumbersome and time-consuming, and it was more important to him to put his time and energy toward nding Justin a home, he said.

Vonesh isn’t the only one con-

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