After nine years the city is opening up the waitlist on its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program from Thursday through May 21, the Department of Community Services announced Monday.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell, in a news release, said a new online application system will make it easier for needy families to apply. "We recognize the need for rental assistance is great, and that families are anxious to apply," the mayor said.
The city closed its waitlist May 27, 2005, when more than 10,000 families had applied. There are now only 564 applicants remaining on that list, city Community Services Director Pam Witty-Oakland said, and she expects 70 percent of them to receive their vouchers in the coming weeks.
A predetermined number of applications will be randomly selected for the current waitlist. Being chosen to be on the waitlist does not guarantee an immediate voucher. The city has about 3,800 Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers altogether, and Witty-Oakland expects there may be about 100 vouchers available after the 2005 group is cleared.
"But we turn over about 20 units a month, so we will continue to work off that (new) list," she said.
Online applications will be accepted from Thursday until 11:59 p.m. May 21. Applicants are encouraged to use the online application because they will be able to print a receipt and the process is open 24 hours a day. An online method will give all applicants an equal opportunity without a first-come, first-served advantage, city officials said. Only one application per household will be accepted.
To apply, go to tinyurl.com/q22sh98.
Those without computer access may use a terminal available at the city’s Section 8 offices at 842 Bethel St. and at Kapolei Hale, from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Several nonprofit agencies have also agreed to provide access to computer terminals for applicants. For those locations, go to the city’s Section 8 Web page at www.honolulu.gov/dcs/housing.html.
The site also lists the income limits tied to voucher eligibility.
The "housing choice" feature of the program, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 program, allows voucher holders some flexibility in selecting where they want to live.
The average voucher is valued at about $1,000 a month.
