February 24 , 2022 The Beacon • 21
Metropolitan housing is beneficial to the community
The Coshocton Metropolitan Housing Authority was established in 1970 under the vision and direction of John O ’ Reilly . It started with just Section 8 Certificates , then added the uptown units known as the Rehab units — named Rehab because extensive remodeling went into them . In the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s , the Meadows apartments were built , as was Parkview North . These are all programs the housing authority continues to manage .
The housing authority is beneficial to the community as limiting housing costs frees up more resources for expenses like food , health-related services , childcare and transportation and allows older adults and people with disabilities to remain in their home communities .
All the programs the housing authority operates are based on a person ’ s income , which is 30 % of their adjusted gross income . The adjustments come in the form
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The housing authority is beneficial to the community as limiting housing costs frees up more resources for expenses like food , healthrelated services , childcare and transportation and allows older adults and people with disabilities to remain in their home communities .
of number of children , childcare expenses , persons age 62 or older , disabled ( regardless of age ) and medical expenses if they meet that description , according to Lisa Mowery , executive director for CMHA .
“ Our funding dictates how many people we can help on our Housing Choice Voucher / Section 8 Program ,” Mowery said . “ Typically , we receive around $ 900,000 a year for housing-assistance payments , and we have 253 vouchers . That money goes to assist families leasing units in Coshocton County and an occasional ported voucher that has moved out of the area . HCV / Section 8 is the only program where you can port your assistance . It is a tenantbased program , meaning
the voucher stays with the participant .”
This is one of three programs the housing authority administers . “ With the HCV / Section 8 Program , most of our families are one-bedroom single households ,” Mowery said . “ Typically , persons 62 years of age or older ; disabled , regardless of age ; and many are living on SSI or Social Security . The SSI payment is only $ 841 per month . Trying to pay rent and utilities on their own would be nearly impossible . The housing authority can assist them with their rent .
“ With HCV / Section 8 , you rent from a private landlord , and everyone ’ s rent is different . There is no set amount because rent and utilities are different for each family .
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Typically , a person on SSI would pay possibly $ 130- $ 160 , and the housing authority would make up the difference . Many people are disabled and not able to work or are elderly who thought Social Security would be enough to live on and they quickly found out it is not . The housing authority comes in to assist with their rent .”
At one point the HCV / Section 8 had a 1 1 / 2- to two-year wait , but it ’ s not that way now .
“ When we took over in 2018 , we rebuilt our team and have been proactive in moving through that wait list to increase the families we can help ,” Mowery said . “ We also received several new board members who are dedicated to our housing authority and the families we serve . The issue is we don ’ t have enough housing units for the Section 8 Program . We are always looking for new landlords who want to be part of the program . It is a simple program to work with . We do all the paperwork , and our portion is direct deposited in the landlords ’ account each month . The landlords are not obligated . If a person moves out , they don ’ t have to rent to another Section 8 person . They have the right to screen their tenants and choose .”
Public housing includes the 106 Meadows units and 25 Rehab units that are scattered throughout the city for a total of 131 public housing units . The assistance stays with these units and can ’ t be ported or transferred . The funding for these units comes in the form of operating funds and capital funds , from HUD , which vary year to year based on appropriations .
For more information visit www . coshoctonmha . org or call 740-622- 6300 .
Editor ’ s note : Marianne Austin contributed to this story .
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