State Issues 900 Section 8 Vouchers For Low-Income Sandy Victims

By Daniel Nee

The administration of Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday that more than 900 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers have been provided to low-income families displaced by Superstorm Sandy to help them move into permanent housing.

The vouchers, worth an average of about $9,840 each, are used as what is known as "special admissions" for Sandy-impacted families who could not return to their homes because of storm damage.

To date, administration officials said in a statement, the housing vouchers have helped approximately 715 low-income families move into permanent housing, and other families issued vouchers are nearly leased or actively searching for housing.

The Administration earmarked funding for 1,000 of the vouchers, which are funded by the federal government. The program provides homes on the private rental market to "very low income" families by through direct rent subsidy payments to landlords, state officials said.

The purpose of the special admissions vouchers, specifically, was to move families out of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance program and into permanent housing. A number of charitable organizations and government agencies were responsible for reaching out to those eligible and encouraging them to apply, the statement said.

Each voucher recipient was required to verify displacement by Sandy, proof of identity, citizenship, Social Security numbers and proof of income for all family members, as well as initial FEMA registration. Income requirements were capped at those families which made 50 percent of the median income for a storm-affected area.

"With this initiative, we have put forth tremendous effort in providing housing counseling to families, hosting rental fairs, and directly connecting families with landlords – all with the goal of moving storm-impacted residents into new homes," said New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III.