GOSHEN —
A significant reduction in services by Goshen Housing Authority would have wide-ranging affect for families, agencies, churches and even schools, according to several people who attended Tuesday’s Goshen Housing Authority meeting.
While local officials are scrambling to find $571,050 to help rescue the struggling agency, Tuesday’s announcement that the housing authority will likely start eliminating rent-assistant vouchers means 29 families in the midst of entering the program must now start looking for somewhere else to live.
Officials were expected to begin notifying the families Tuesday. Those 29 families have 35 children, according to the Goshen Housing Authority.
“Twenty nine families will be told, ‘we told you you have it, but now you don’t,’ ” said Sandra Austin, deputy director for the housing authority.
Another 42 families with 91 children were on a waiting list and may be told eventually to look elsewhere for assistance.
If Goshen Housing Authority can’t come up with $571,050 sought by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and begins slashing services, LaCasa Inc., a social services agency that concentrates much of its efforts on housing, would be among the hardest hit.
LaCasa rents 30 units to Section 8 recipients, according to Larry Gautsche, executive director. Section 8 is the HUD program that provides rental assistance to low-income families.
He said LaCasa is aware of one family that was planning on moving into a LaCasa apartment and had already placed a deposit. He said the agency will refund their deposit.
City officials on Tuesday made an appeal, asking landlords to return deposits to any families associated with the housing authority’s change in policy.
One step the housing authority is facing is the elimination of 100 vouchers over the next nine months. That would be 100 apartments that are suddenly empty, Gautsche said.
“That’s money that won’t be invested in the community,” Gautsche said. “That’s a significant loss. It has a domino effect now because if the subsidy isn’t there for the housing authority, that puts additional stress on the extended family and other social service agencies and churches.
“...It has a lot of implications,” Gautsche said.
One option the housing authority has looked into is having some recipients move outside of the city and use vouchers available through the state. Relocating outside of the city would be necessary because voucher recipients can’t live in a jurisdiction served by another housing agency.
Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network is one of two short-term emergency homeless shelters in Elkhart County, and executive director Tim Thorne, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said he’s worried his agency will see an increase in requests for help if the Goshen agency makes cuts.
“This is so connected to our agency, frankly it’s an overwhelming concept,” Thorne said. “From an economic perspective, this simply couldn’t happen at a worse time.”
Local News
Related Photos
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The former Goshen Housing Authority on West Lincoln Avenue is shown in this 2010 file photo. The agency has since merged with the Warsaw Housing Authority and is facing reductions in HUD voucher assistance. JUSTIN CRIPE
Loss of housing vouchers could have significant social impact
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