![]() Indeed, technology carries the dual benefits of increased efficiency and promoting social distancing. These improvements are welcome and should be applauded, but let’s keep them in perspective. Sponsive and effective for the community we serve, and we’re striving for that daily.” “Truly, we want to be a program that is re “This has been a period that has given us an opportunity for introspection and a chance to look at everything we do,” Wade said. Wade likened the technology to an “ATM for housing,” that would allow customers to submit applications and other documents that once required clunky paperwork and waiting in line for the help of a CMHA employee. In another example, beginning in early 2021, CMHA plans to install self-service kiosks in the public spaces of its administrative building on Kinsman Road. These changes are the results of what Wade described as a moment of soul-searching for CMHA during the pandemic – a chance for the organization to consider feedback from tenants and landlords and reevaluate its systems from top to bottom. In the past, families languishing on the waiting list for years often would move or change phone numbers and, for lack of updated contact information, miss their shot at the subsidy, CMHA Chief of Staff Jeffrey Wade told me. ![]() In another important innovation, applicants will have access to a web-based system, where they can update their contact information, so CMHA knows exactly how to reach them if they’re chosen to receive a voucher. She assured me that those currently on CMHA’s waiting list will receive their vouchers before the new system takes effect.īut the bottom line is this: Families can apply at any time for a chance at one of the coveted vouchers. ![]() Exactly when the lotteries will take place and how many applicants will be chosen will be determined by voucher turnover and funding availability, Nolan said. ![]() CMHA also will periodically hold “mini lotteries,” during which vouchers will be awarded to applicants who are randomly selected from the pool, said Dori Nolan, CMHA’s director of policy, planning and housing mobility. Under the new system, CMHA will accept applications on a rolling basis, meaning applicants will remain on the list for 18 months, at which point they must reapply. In November or December, CMHA again will begin accepting applications for the housing voucher lottery – but this time, there is no deadline to apply. To all who have experienced this depressing cycle, I have good news. Those who aren’t chosen for the list or miss the window to apply wait years for their next shot, while they do their best in a rental market that has become known for its high eviction rate and lack of affordable options. From that pool, a computer randomly selects 10,000 for a waiting list, and the housing authority spends the next few years working its way to the bottom, handing out vouchers as they become available. When that rare and potentially life-altering lottery takes place, applicants have only one week to apply.ĭuring that time, CMHA is flooded with thousands of applications. CLEVELAND, Ohio – Like a comet or solar eclipse, it happens once every few years and is all too easy to miss – the announcement that the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority will open its lottery for a chance to win a spot on the waiting list for a federal housing voucher.
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