Last month, one of my clients moved to a safe, stable home after years of renting in a neighborhood that couldn’t have been more different. 

I’m happy for her. But I’m also feeling something familiar: it shouldn’t have been this difficult.

Dana reached out to us with a Housing Choice Voucher — a benefit that acts like a coupon, reducing rent for some of our most low-income neighbors. Virginia law makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate against people with vouchers. But this type of discrimination happens all the time.

In her case, Dana was denied housing by seven property managers. It’s possible that they were all breaking the law. We’re investigating each one.

“At times, I was ready to give up,” Dana told us. “It was so stressful.” For a while, the few places willing to rent to her weren’t truly habitable. “They call it a Housing Choice Voucher,” she said, “but I don’t really have a choice.”

Dana shouldn’t have had to struggle like this. She has two school-aged kids. She’s 41 now, and first applied for a voucher when she was 18. She was living in an apartment complex where she told us she saw shootings, heard violent arguments, hid her children from “bodies in the streets.” Years ago, she helped her father with his voucher application – and he was successful. But until recently, Dana’s number hadn’t come up.

Nationwide, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, only 61% of people with vouchers can find suitable homes. Bias and record-high housing costs make the rest too difficult to use. But 82% of our voucher clients find safe and stable housing.

With federal funds at risk, I worry about my clients like Dana. Our neighbors with vouchers already face a mountain of obstacles. HOME stands in the gap – defending Virginia law and finding housing in neighborhoods with opportunity. What will we do when federal grants go away?

I hope you’ll think about Dana and her kids today. I know I will. With your support️, we can stay in the fight. ↗️

Keep us in your thoughts,

Teneika Jones
Housing Specialist
Move to Opportunity Program

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