The Jacksonville Housing Authority opened its waiting list Thursday for federally subsidized Section 8 housing vouchers.
People started lining up at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds at 5 a.m. to sign up for a shot at the federal program that helps low income people pay the rent. Hopefuls are placed into a lottery for a limited number of available vouchers to determine their ranking on the waitlist.
Sixty-six-year old Frances Berring was there with her husband and two great-grandchildren. Berring worked as a nursing assistant for 23 years, but her rheumatoid arthritis got so bad, she had to retire.
“Section 8, that’s what I come out here to apply for, and this is my first time doing it,” she says. “But I had been working, and I figured I didn’t need it when I was working.”
Berring says even if she’s one of the lucky people who gets a slot, it could be a year or more before she gets a voucher and can start looking for a new place to live.
Jacksonville Housing Authority President and CEO Fred McKinnies says that sounds about right, given the way the system works.
“We have a limited amount of vouchers, right at 7,300 vouchers. Any time someone comes off of the program, that’s when we can select more." McKinnies says.
He says 5,000 people were expected to show up Thursday. The last time the JHA opened the waiting list was in 2013 when more than 9,000 people applied.
