HOUSING AUTHORITY OFFERS MORE THAN SHELTER

SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON

A local organization is seeing more people secure housing vouchers by helping people already struggling to find shelter, fight other stability obstacles, like maintaining a job.

The new program's wraparound support — from coordinating counseling visits to finding the best bus route to work — is drawing interest from landlords, more eager to offer vouchers to people with the individualized help.

Originally, veterans were the only people who qualified, but six weeks ago Housing Opportunities for Southwest Washington expanded those services to all adults eligible for state and federally funded low-income health insurance. Housing Opportunities for Southwest Washington is the Longview-based housing authority that serves Cowlitz, Lewis, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties.

Waitlists for affordable housing vouchers are long, and the more time a person spends without access to shelter, keeping a job or maintaining sobriety becomes more and more difficult.

That's why Rachelle Sanders and Mariyah Weddle started the Supportive Housing Division at the housing authority to support people as they search for work and wait in line to enter stable housing.

'Chipping away' at goals

Sanders and Weddle also work for the housing authority's Veteran Integration Program, or VIP, where homeless veterans meet with one of five case workers to apply for affordable housing vouchers.

But the program couldn't connect non-veterans with the same services.

The new program expanded services to anybody age 18 and older and eligible for Medicaid coverage, the latter of which is largely determined by household income level and size.

Weddle, who is currently the only case worker in the new Supportive Housing Division, isn't limited to helping clients apply for housing vouchers.

Weddle said the support she provides is like putting up bumpers at the bowling alley. Clients who apply for housing vouchers often want to secure both housing and stable employment, but other factors, such as debt or addiction, can derail their efforts.

Helping a client prepare a personal budget, find transportation options to take them to and from work, and stay connected with a mental health or substance abuse case worker are the program's way of helping keep people focused on their larger goal of securing and maintaining employment, said Weddle.

The case manager works with each individual client to determine which housing vouchers they qualify for, and helps them fill out the applications for each option they are interested in.

In the meantime, "we set monthly or weekly goals, depending on how little or big they are, and just start chipping away," Weddle said.

A rise in housing vouchers

Private landlords and property management companies have reached out to the housing authority to offer housing options to those enrolled in the new wraparound support program, Sanders said.

"People that have the supportive services retain housing so much more successfully" compared to not having those services while experiencing homelessness, she added.

Seven people have secured housing vouchers this month with the help of VIP and the Supportive Housing Division, twice as many as in a typical month.

This uptick could also be a result of people leaving housing where they used vouchers, for new market-priced rentals, which therefore opened doors for current voucher owners to fill the vacant spots, Sanders said.

"It kind of felt like dominoes," Weddle said. "One person got housing, and it just seemed after that every few days we were getting calls that other people got approved."

The Supportive Housing Division has seen 20 applications for the wraparound support since the program started, and there are still dozens of people waitlisted for housing vouchers who may qualify but haven't applied yet, Sanders said. All of those applications were through word of mouth, and Sanders said the more word spreads, she expects those applications to grow.

"We'd like to reach out to any service provider that comes into contact with people going through any housing instabilities to let them know what we're doing," Sanders said.

Caleb Barber is a news reporter for The Daily News covering housing and business.