Any advice on Section 8 decision I have to make?

This fall I started collecting SSDI. I'm very grateful that I got approved right away and it took away the fear I had that I might end up in a shelter. (I never saved for a rainy day, and had unstable employment for years. I'm living alone.) I've been able to keep living in the apartment I've had for over 5 years. It is a very low rent apartment (in a small complex with nice people) and the proberty owner does accept Section 8.

18 months ago I got on a waiting list for Section 8 housing voucher. My hope has been to get the voucher and then use it to stay right here where I am. Cheap though my rent is, it takes half of my SSDI check, which leaves me scrimping by on very little. At the rate I was moving up in the line, I expected that I would get the voucher by March of this new year.

Before Christmas I called to see if the line had moved and I got a shock. I had been moved backward in the line from number 600 to number 1200. I had never been moved backward before. It can take over a year to move a thousand spaces. Plus, maybe I'll get moved backward again. (I've already submitted the doctor's verification of disability, which pushed me 500 spaces forward.) Now I'm in a quandary.

If I want to get housing assistance sooner, one way would be to apply for an apartment in a HUD complex. I'm kind of afraid of those places. Walking from the parking lots to the apartments can be scary. Plus, my walking is hindered by me having an arthritic foot that is getting worse and worse. Another option would be to apply for an apt in a senior complex, and those places are much safer. Of course, the better the place, the longer the wait to get in, though not necessarily.

I feel bad at the thought of having to leave where I am living and where I have neighbors who I know. Where I now live, I park right by my door. There are no steps to climb.

There is a senior complex place near me, but the apartments are very small. It's an elevator building. I would have to cope with the move, which is hard with my degenerative disc problems and knee and foot arthritic problems. I would have to get rid of probably half my stuff (which might not be a bad thing.)

Maybe I should just go talk to them at this senior place. It's a high rise building, and I would miss being able to have my bird feeders. On the other hand, I would be paying a third of my income in rent, instead of half of my income. Maybe there would be other advantages to going there. It's a nice place, from what I've known.

Still I wonder if there is someway I could get help staying where I am. No place will be as cheap as where I am for the government. That's what's too bad. Anywhere else I go will be bigger rent for the government program to pay. Like the subsidy will be higher. I'll save money by moving, but the goverment will pay more. This is one of the ways that our country wastes money. Where I get my mental health care is supposed to help me with housing issues, but I get no help/advice on anything. I have no case manager.

That's a tough decision, Rose; I guess I would make a pro/con list and see what I preferred. I don't know what you are having to forego by paying so much in rent, if I were getting by I think I would stay where I feel comfortable and wait the year or two that it might take to get the housing assistance? What will you use the extra money for (and the lack of expense for bird food :-) and is that more important to you than knowing your neighbors and having a familiar/comfortable situation?

((((( Rose )))))

I would say that if you are not in dire straits in the apartment you are now in and feel comfy in, it would behoove you to look into things at your own pace. There is nothing better than asking questions and getting the answers you need to make an informed decision.

I would check out the places you are considering to see what it's like living there. Talk to some of the residents if you can to get a feel for the place.

Does the city you live in offer it's own private Section 8 housing? If so, it's a consideration while waiting for the Federal Section 8 to come along. There are also many other apartment complexes that have their own Section 8 or lower income standards as well that you might look into.

I like Perna's suggestion of writing a pros/cons list. For each place you visit and questions you ask, you can then create your list. The unfortunate thing about Section 8 is that people move up and down the list by their needs. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair I know.

Dear Rose,
If the property owner does accept section 8 and you are on a list for a voucher for housing assistance I would go in person, explain the burden of paying 1/2 of your income has on your mental/physical health. Are you recieving EBT or energy assistance? There are many programs but you have to be aware of them and apply.
Before moving to HUD areas I would visit them in the daytime and nightime and/or call the local police department to see what the crime rate is. Public records in the newspaper or go online.
Try to stay calm, you are going to be okay, and will keep you in my prayers.
You dont want to end up in a bad area!
I just remembered I have to apply for disability tax reduction for property taxes, they dont send you a renewal, and most people forget the deadline is in December! Tax dept know me so they have the liberty to forego the rules.

It would be about $175/month that I would save by getting housing assistance. That's a lot to me right now. For instance: I haven't gotten an oil change for my car in 12 months. Before Christmas, a piece of a tooth broke off and I haven't yet been to the dentist to get it fixed. I stopped putting birdseed out before the summer was over. I don't get haircuts as often as I would like to. I don't eat as healthy as I used to. I didn't have my carpeting cleaned before the holidays as I normally do. I lost my eyeglasses, and I am using old pairs because I don't have money to replace the ones I lost.

To be honest, some of the things above are as much due to worsening depression as to my smaller income. My basic needs are being met. Still, I live in fear of anything unforeseen coming up, which happens to us all from time to time. If I spend money on anything that isn't a basic need, like splurging on breakfast yesterday at McDonald's, I worry that I am getting careless with money. I thought it would be kind of good to have to be more self-disciplined about money. I've lived under tight budgets when I was young and I didn't mind then. This is different, somehow.

I'm inclined to just stay here where I am . . . maybe until I am age 62 and eligible for getting into a senior complex. Places that I could move into next month, and get subsidized for, are dangerous. I don't really love where I am, but I do have decent neighbors. I've always been one to move at a careful pace. I don't suppose I'm going to change.

To be honest, I feel too depressed to even cope with moving. I have thought about going to look at some properties. There might be things I don't know. Senior places will take a certain number of non-senior disabled. Soon I'll be 60 y.o. There is a building nearby that I've been thinking about. In my city the practice is often that you are not allowed to look around, especially to look at a vacant apartment, unless you fill out an application. A good case manager could be a help to me. I just can't seem to get one. I suppose I'm considered too capable a person to need one.

I am getting energy assistance and a few dollars in food stamps.

That's a good idea about asking the police department about crime on a given property. I would never have thought of that. They would be the ones to know.

I really appreciate the responses and feedback. I've read and re-read each of them and will again to help organize my thinking.

I hope you are all doing okay, yourselves.

My county police department has a website that has links to crimes/criminals in the area but I don't know how much good such knowledge can do; it would worry me more I think. Ignorance is sometimes bliss :-)

Ah, that awkward age of 60, I remember it, not being allowed to join the senior center yet, etc. (not that I would join my senior center; I'm on the edge of a "bad" neighborhood so it is not a very good one compatible with what I'd be interested in). Maybe making a 2- or 5-year plan would help?

That is hard, not having quite enough for the little important things like car and dental care. Those things add up and I'm sure are not making you feel better. Sometimes when I feel like there are a lot of things like that getting me down, listing them and getting them out of my head and onto paper helps me. I had to do that today; I have a big event coming up in a couple weeks and I was stressing over the details so I made a list of the days between now and then and filled in what I would do each day to get ready. I already feel more relieved and like I can handle it.