Marty Walsh announces launch of City of Boston Voucher Program
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh on Monday announced the formal launch of the City of Boston Voucher Program, which will help hundreds of low-income city families with rental assistance.
The rental voucher program is funded by the city’s operating budget and administered by the Boston Housing Authority.
Walsh announced the voucher program in his State of the City address last year, and included $2.5 million in the fiscal year 2021 budget to create the program.
“Boston is a home for all, and these vouchers will allow more of our low-income families to have stable, secure housing, a cornerstone of residents’ wellbeing,” Walsh said in a statement. “We are using every tool available to us to ensure families in our communities can continue to call Boston home.”
The voucher program will focus on Project Based Vouchers, which are tied to a particular site or development. The program will help make both existing and in-development income-restricted housing available to very- and extremely-low income residents, homeless Boston Public Schools families, households facing displacement and other vulnerable populations.
Since June, the Boston Housing Authority has brought together low-income renters, nonprofits and service providers to help develop the program. Also, the Department of Neighborhood Development has consulted with property owners and developers.
“This historic City investment will be a new and critical housing resource for hundreds of Boston’s most vulnerable residents,” Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kate Bennett said in a statement. “I want to thank Mayor Walsh for his leadership in driving this initiative forward, and creating a lifeline of affordable, stable housing for families who need it the most.”
The Boston Housing Authority will formally launch the program by issuing a request for proposals from housing operators and developers interested in incorporating Project Based Vouchers into their developments.
Similar to Section 8, vouchers are funded by annual appropriations, while the commitment to stable affordable housing is secured through long-term contracts between the Boston Housing Authority and the property owner.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3rmer2H
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