The Pause Of Michigan’s Largest Federal Housing Program Leaves Families Out On A Limb

Something needs to be done!

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has frozen its federal housing voucher program, leaving people on the waitlist for close to a year, Detroit Free Press reported.

With the program being on hold, approximately 85,000 people are still on the list for a coveted federal housing choice voucher, also known as Section 8. The voucher helps keep residents’ costs down on rent, close to 30% of a person’s income. The number of people on the waitlist exceeds the population of Farmington Hills. As a result of the pause, 5,000 residents identify as homeless, and MSHDA officials have stopped even adding people to the list.

In the city of Detroit, 3,000 people sit on the list, leaving people wondering why. The reason? Federal funds from Congress allegedly aren’t consistent with the influx of rent as well as the limited resources of affordable housing keeping the rent high. Principal deputy assistant secretary for public and Indian housing for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Richard Monocchio, said the higher cost per voucher puts a “bigger strain on the funding that we receive from Congress.”

However, that is not the excuse voucher receivers want to hear. Khrystena Humber is one of the names on the list, along with her four children. She said she was disappointed to learn of the pause, while living in a shelter, and was hoping the voucher was her way out. She left her previous home after her roof caved in, and the damaged walls and carpet made the home unlivable. Working part-time, Humber is concerned about not being able to pay her rent. “I would hate to have to go back to the shelter,” the Detroit resident said.

“I would hate to be back homeless. I would hate to have to go back to that state of mind that I was in if Section 8 don’t come because I can’t afford to lose my house or just not have a house, period, to be stable for my kids.”

According to Michigan Live, Michigan State Housing Development Authority Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Amy Hovey released a statement in May 2024 saying that the agency is doing all they can to address the funding shortcomings. “At a time when Michigan is gaining traction in addressing our housing challenges, this reduction in funding will only take us backward and make things worse for our most vulnerable neighbors,” Hovey said.

But officials also claimed those already on the list wouldn’t be affected. “We’re not removing folks from the program. It’s just we’re very limited at this time,” Lisa Kemmis, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s director of rental assistance, said at the time.

Federal funding for the 2024 voucher program isn’t enough to match Michigan’s growing housing costs. States like Maine and Oklahoma are experiencing similar issues. For a family in Michigan, the average cost for a housing unit is $780 a month – with the agency receiving $727 – increasing by $60 from 2023’s average monthly unit cost being close to $720.

The state housing authority only received close to $250 million in federal funding in 2024. In 2023, MSHDA received $242.5 million, spending $244.6 million and using approximately $2 million from reserves.