South Metro Housing Options opens waitlist for a ordable apartments

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A waitlist is open for one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments at Alyson Court, an a ordable housing property serving adults ages 62 and older and adults with disabilities.

e waitlist for the property, managed by South Metro Housing Options, is open from July 24 at 8 a.m. until July 28 at 4 p.m.

SMHO is a public housing authority based in Littleton that administers voucher programs and provides housing for families, students, professionals, seniors and disabled adults.

Applicants may apply for Alyson Court by submitting a pre-application online at bit.ly/alysoncourtapply. Applicants may be from any jurisdiction, must be 18 years old or older and must have a valid email address, according to SMHO.

Placement on the waitlist is based on the date and time of submitting a pre-application to the list. If a person is chosen from the waitlist, they will go through the application process for a project-based voucher. ose who are selected and qualify will receive project-based rental assistance through SMHO and will pay 30% of their adjusted gross income on their rent. Rent includes all utilities except for electricity, which tenants pay on their own.

Alyson Court, located at 5807 S. Gallup Street in Littleton includes secure entrances, elevators, a community room with a large kitchen, games, a piano and an outside patio with a grill. e building is three stories tall and the one-bedroom apartments are 550 square feet each.

No paper pre-applications will be available or accepted. SMHO encourages people who need access to a computer or internet to complete this task to do so at their local libraries.

Only one application per family can be accepted. Applications submitted after the list closes will not be accepted.

After a pre-application is submitted, applicants can check their status and update their information said Mary Ann Littler, chair of the Doctors Care board. “We’ll probably start planning in January so we can serve more.” as needed at https://onlineportal. smho.co. Applicants must ensure the contact information on their preapplication is always current.

Applicants who would like to request a reasonable accommodation should call Helen Hoy at (303) 7949608. A reasonable accommodation is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or health insurance coverage and Medicaid. service that may be necessary for a person with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. faces of those that are helping out.”

“It’s key to do outreach,” Porras said.

Applicants with questions about the process can call SMHO at (303) 794-9608 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through ursday.

“Obviously, e Doctors Care coverage team, led by Laura-Elena Porras, was at the event speaking to families about

Less than a mile away on July 22, Love INC was having a backto-school event of their own at the organization’s Renewed Treasures thrift store, where families could pick up free school clothes and grab lunch — provided by the Littleton Rotary Club — while enjoying live music and a bouncy castle.

“One of the things that’s really important to us is that all of the clothes are top quality,” said Love INC executive director Kathryn Roy. “So it really represents the value of the kids.”

At the third-annual Love INC backto-school event, families that registered were given clothing vouchers to shop for their kids. Roy said that aside from relieving some nancial stress, the event serves to forge connections within the community.

“One of our beliefs is to really be relational, so we wanted this to kind of be a fun event for families,” Roy said. “It’s seeing the joy on the faces of kids, but it’s also the joy on the

Love INC has other opportunities throughout the year for the community to connect, particularly through their IMPACT classes that meet during the fall.

Roy hopes that the free clothes from the Love INC event can help “take the place of other expenses” that families may be struggling with, largely as a result of the rising cost of housing in the area.

Kleinman said providing health care to families in need is not straightforward, and requires support in other areas of life.

“People have food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation, family challenges, social challenges, so we understand all those things,” Kleinman said. “We de nitely align with being able to look at every family and look at people as full people.”

Although Doctors Care and Love INC held separate events, the two groups have worked together, and share parts of the same demographic. Both are working to grow their outreach and serve more people in