Sequester cuts threaten thousands with homelessness

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -    For people in Allen County who use Section 8 vouchers, the threat of homelessness could become very real as a result of the recent government spending cuts.  

Last year the Department of Housing and Urban Development suffered $1 billion in government cuts. That caused local agencies to reach into their emergency reserve funds to keep business operating for the remainder of the year.

Now, the sequestration cuts that went into affect earlier this month come as a second blow.

Almost 3000 people use Section 8 and a thousand people utilize Public Housing in Allen County every month.
However, it's a pecking order, and if someone's single, not disabled, and without a family, that puts him or her at the top of the list as the first to be let go.

"Who would be the first impacted, and the second, and a tertiary impact on families, and we think people who are able-bodied tend to be the ones that we look to first," said Maynard Scales, the Executive Director of the Fort Wayne Housing Authority.

However, the FWHA said it will try to absorb as much of the cost as possible before it comes to that. They hope to be able to serve more people but at a lower rate of assistance.

"Rather than fill those five vacancies and know we're going to have a five percent cut...Maybe it makes sense to hold on and see, before we put those people in, and say whoops, now you have to leave," Scales said.

It also costs around $2 million to fund staff to operate the $15 million voucher program. That funding is being cut by $250,000 dollars causing a hiring freeze and shifting of personnel.

"The service level will go down dramatically, there's no question about that," Scales said. "The repairs, the renovations of the properties, keeping them in good shape, that will suffer. That's where it's going to show up. The shelter, the roofs will be there, but sooner or later, those roofs will have holes in them, and will we be able to repair them."
 
The Fort Wayne Housing Authority has also been working for years to deconcentrate poverty in Fort Wayne. It's a trend staff fear will back track because, with less money available for housing vouchers, the FWHA will not be able to afford to help low-income people live in more expensive parts of the city.