policy paper

Date

Abstract

In the United States of America, the section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program has been ranked the biggest federal low-income housing assistance program. However, having been established in the year 1974, it has enabled families afford safe, decent and sanitary housing and presently it is helping at least two million and above households. The Housing Urban Development Department (HUD) controls the program whereas the state or local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) manages and on the other had grants the low-income entitled families with children, disabled people, veterans, and the elderly with vouchers. However, families that get this vouchers land a chance hence use them in renting houses within the private market. Generally, after that what happens is the voucher finances part of the rent while all the families that received the vouchers ends up paying as little as thirty percent of their monthly earnings toward the rent. Additionally, Fair Market Rent (FMR) within the housing voucher program is determined through a system that verifies the unite size, the rental prices existing within a community, and finial definite rental fee the landlord receives.

However, all over the United States of America it is clear that for all entitled families with low-income comprising of veterans, children, disabled individuals and the elderly the Housing Voucher Program (HVC) serves as the major vehicles planned to endow them with affordable housing. The program’s main affirmed objective is to basically ensure affordability of housing hence allowing these accomplices to advance their housing quality, reposition into improved neighborhoods, develop their work opportunities, and eradicate homelessness. It is a program believed to impinge on economic and social externalities like the nearby homes prices and also impact accomplices directly.

History and research indicates that in 1974, in the United States is the very year that HVC program was introduced which later on developed to be one of the distinctive programs o subsidized housing. More than three thousand local public housing authorities execute the role of administration while the Housing and Urban Development Department of the United States of America is the one that is in charge of operating the program.

Across the entire country, statistics indicate that above two million households have been provided with rental subsidies by the Housing Choice Program is the main federal government’s prevalent housing support. Records, indicates it as the main program that has excelled tremendously within the department of housing thus bringing a notable change and a great mark in the history of the United States of America’s Department of Housing for assisting poor and the well to do families in settling within developed and developing environments.

The main target of the HVC program is to simply ensure that the extreme needy individuals who include the elderly, children, veterans, low income families and all other individuals who live in dependence of the disability benefits benefit from the program’s assistance. This can be noted from the program’s structure that targets exceptionally entitled low house-holds where medium income of the main area is thirty percent and perhaps below that and approximately eighty percent of holders of these vouchers are beneath this given level of income.

The amount required to cover the remaining amount of the housing cost is after the participant has paid whatever he or she can afford is settled by monthly subsidy that is provided by the HVC since the participant can’t meet the locally distinct payment standards of the Fair Market Rent. It’s clear that the dollar amount less than which the quality standard of rental units of housing in an area that is apparently below forty percent is basically what defines Fair Market Rent. The program typically settles the balance that remains after the beneficiaries who are the participants takes care of the roughly thirty percent of their monthly earnings for utilities and rent.

For any participant to be eligible within the program of Housing Choice Voucher, there are several steps and channels that they must follow. In that case, submission of an application to the housing authority is basically the very first step, after that a waiting list is assigned to the applicants whenever the name of the applicants emerges at the top listed applicants in the waiting list whereby the listed participants are given the chance to meet, learn and understand the requirements and rules of the initial program. After the participants are selected and given the voucher they are given the chance to go around and search and select the kind of housing that suits their desires in the private rental housing market, this should be a house that is basically of higher quality and perhaps neighborhood that is better compared to their previous places of residence. After the whole sequence of this process takes place the voucher location receipt changes and on the other hand the meetings held around with the staff of the housing authority all through the process of application is highly expected to upshot in an increase in the benefits of the public.

A keen research on housing choice voucher program indicates that it has lifted numerous families, prevented others from being homeless and also dragged them from being homeless to acquiring a new lives and homes and where they can start a newly and commendable life all through. However, this serves to be one of the major reasons why Federal Housing Assistance through vouchers serves to the assistance of the exceptionally families that faces low-income. Hence, the congress decision regarding the structure of the program after the involvement of the federal government has forced the increment of monies allocated to the vouchers thus making them so much reliable to the needy families. Due to the rapid growth of voucher’s assistance waiting list all over the country the congress has authorized the issuance of more vouchers from the Housing and Urban Development.

Although, the program of Housing Choice Voucher has indicated both major shortcomings and several authentic successes, thorough studies on this matter has constantly indicated that the program has assisted in the improvement of housing quality for all needy people who couldn’t afford that on their own thus being a very great mark on in some given measureable advancements in their normal well-being.

Despite the fact that there are numerous shortcomings associated with the Housing Choice Vouchers program that include long waiting list among diverse communities, alliterations within the program and the capabilities to assist several families to exclude themselves from homelessness and also current funding cuts, it is clear and evident that once one family receives that voucher then absolutely they are in a position that they won’t be homeless again. The vouchers demands record a number that far exceeds their normal supply and this can be noted from the long wait list that indicates around a third of the voucher recipients return them unexploited.

Additionally, the landlord’s reluctance in the process of accepting vouchers and the main shortage of affordable housing has posed a very great challenge since not all families have the capability of accessing the use of vouchers. This however happens simply because the landlords on the other hand expect some other several documentation of assets from their tenants among them their credit score.

However, HVC has been recorded as one of the reliable programs that has several extreme families facing low-income it has in turn been regarded as the cheapest program to fund families and provide needed quality of shelter to the less fortunate comparing to giving them expensive social services. This is basically a program that ensures that all the less fortunate families within the United States of American community and streets acquire the right positions of residence and lead a healthy life that will be reciprocated to the productivity of the entire American state and beyond boundaries. HVC also assist in preventing family’s separations simply because in many places the given program is cheaper rather than putting any child in foster care.

Lastly, HVC has enabled numerous people in moving to job opportunities that are closer and better, it has also enabled the less fortunate within the United States evade poverty simply because it has supported better schools and network. It is a program that has saved more homeless children from developing psychological and health problems that results from this calamity and that takes a care of lifetime through saving of dollars that cater for this. To conclude, HVC is a program that can and must assist in eradicating the United States’ immense poverty so as to advance the prospect of life for the families facing low-incomes and the very needy families hence being the major reason why the Voucher program is crucial within the American States.