housing

[Bob698]

There seems to be some confusion in terms of "HUD housing", "section 8", and "disabilty housing" with reguard to disabilty, age, and income.

If you're interested in housing/rentals for disabled people and/or people with MS, the easiest way to get started is talk to a social worker in your area. Just go to the municipal building in your town and ask who you should talk to. If that doesn't work, check the "blue pages" in your phone book or the white pages under "Gov't services".

Let them know what kinds of accomedations you're looking for (ie, single floor, assistiive devices, transportation services, etc.).

[palmtree]

Agate,

Good for you! You got yourself into a Section 8 apartment. You know more about the details than I do. These government programs can be very complicated.

From what I gather, there are different types of Section 8 apartments. It seems there are some where the whole building is Section 8, some where Section 8 and HUD subsidies are combined and some where a portion of the units qualify. Some are portable and some are not. Very complicated.

It's a lot easier to forget the whole thing and rent your own apartment and hire your own caregiver...if you have the money.

[agate]

Agate,

Good for you! You got yourself into a Section 8 apartment. You know more about the details than I do. These government programs can be very complicated.

From what I gather, there are different types of Section 8 apartments. It seems there are some where the whole building is Section 8, some where Section 8 and HUD subsidies are combined and some where a portion of the units qualify. Some are portable and some are not. Very complicated.

It's a lot easier to forget the whole thing and rent your own apartment and hire your own caregiver...if you have the money.

Palmtree, you definitely have the picture: complicated.

In Tacoma, WA, where I lived for 28 years, you could wait in line at the metropolitan housing authority office and get an application for a Section 8 voucher--but only at times when they'd advertised that vouchers were available--and once you got that voucher, you could ask landlords for buildings advertising rental apartments if they accepted Section 8. Often the rental ads would state "Section 8 accepted," but it never hurt to ask, in my experience.

If the answer was Yes, the building would rent you an apartment through Section 8, and your rent would not be the market rent that many others in the building might be paying. Your rent would be 30% of your income, with medical expenses taken into account.

OR you could look around for project-based Section 8 buildings. The Internet is a much faster way to find them than any other way, I think. Eventually you get to a HUD page with a list, and you call the buildings you're interested in, talk to the building manager or company and discuss your questions about apartment size, etc., and put yourself on the waiting list.

Then you wait and wait, typically. They often want you to call every month to reinstate yourself on the list. Otherwise they drop you.

OR there are a number of other ways to find low-income housing. Some city housing authorities offer it, and so do many counties. A lot depends on just plain luck, unfortunately.

There are also some partnerships that offer low-income housing though it's not Section 8. The rents are lower than they usually are in whatever area they're in. Some businesses and religious organizations have government funding that enables them to offer this type of housing.

[xrayeyes]

Thanks Bob

I have tried social worker, nmss, his, senator's office, center for independent living and everyone I can think off and they all send me the same lust: all section 8 only it 62 and older, neither of them I qualify for. I live outside of Chicago in the burbs and there is nothing, amazes me that I live by a big city and if my MS progresses I am going to end up in a nursing home before I am 50.

There seems to be some confusion in terms of "HUD housing", "section 8", and "disabilty housing" with reguard to disabilty, age, and income.

If you're interested in housing/rentals for disabled people and/or people with MS, the easiest way to get started is talk to a social worker in your area. Just go to the municipal building in your town and ask who you should talk to. If that doesn't work, check the "blue pages" in your phone book or the white pages under "Gov't services".

Let them know what kinds of accomedations you're looking for (ie, single floor, assistiive devices, transportation services, etc.).

[poppydarling]

The Catch 22 of intentional housing is that those who most need it are not able to purchase property.

Do you mean can't afford to purchase property? I've been looking into how this has been done with other intentional communities. Groups often split land up into five or 10 parcels and everyone pitching in their percentage. Depending on what area of the country you select (or area of the world) land can be quite cheap. Where I live, you could get a good-sized parcel of land for $25,000. The taxes and zoning are what often hang you up.

As far as affordability, a tiny house can be built outright for $10,000-20,000. I have seen many built for $2000-5000. I'm betting many people with MS own homes that have at least that much in equity right now. I'm going to research charitable organizations or foundations that could pitch in for construction costs or land costs for renters or those who otherwise don't have any capital.

[agate]

Do you mean can't afford to purchase property? I've been looking into how this has been done with other intentional communities. Groups often split land up into five or 10 parcels and everyone pitching in their percentage. Depending on what area of the country you select (or area of the world) land can be quite cheap. Where I live, you could get a good-sized parcel of land for $25,000. The taxes and zoning are what often hang you up.

As far as affordability, a tiny house can be built outright for $10,000-20,000. I have seen many built for $2000-5000. I'm betting many people with MS own homes that have at least that much in equity right now. I'm going to research charitable organizations or foundations that could pitch in for construction costs or land costs for renters or those who otherwise don't have any capital.

This is undoubtedly all true, but I hope you will keep in mind that there are people with MS, even some reading this board, for whom $2000 would be a great fortune. There are people with no savings or resources--and people who once had resources but medical expenses and other MS-related costs have depleted them.

[Mamabug]

You may wish to contact Chicago's MS Society:
Chicago Office
525 W. Monroe
Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60661
312-421-4500

They may have knowledge of resources for you.

[poppydarling]

This is undoubtedly all true, but I hope you will keep in mind that there are people with MS, even some reading this board, for whom $2000 would be a great fortune. There are people with no savings or resources--and people who once had resources but medical expenses and other MS-related costs have depleted them.

I have MS, have loads of medical bills, live on disability which puts me at poverty level for most people in the US, and have about $28 in my checking account currently. This is no reason to not plan and dream of a better life! The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.

[agate]

I have MS, have loads of medical bills, live on disability which puts me at poverty level for most people in the US, and have about $28 in my checking account currently. This is no reason to not plan and dream of a better life! The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.

More power to you, poppydarling!

I didn't mean to be critical. Sometimes people on an MS board seem to assume that everyone has lots of resources, and a reminder that we're not all made out of money can be helpful. But I see by the last sentence of your earlier post that you were quite aware of that too. I should have read it more carefully.

[palmtree]

I've been in HUD rental housing for many years and am pretty sure that you have to be in the Section 8 category to be eligible for it.

Being poor enough to qualify for some benefits has real advantages sometimes. The housing is usually more than just acceptable. I've had far better housing with HUD than I could have afforded otherwise.

The apartments tend to be small--500 square feet is typical--but some of the buildings are new enough so that they're still in good shape.

As palmtree mentioned, there are often long waiting lists. When I tried to move from HUD housing in one state to similar housing in another state, I waited a couple of years but eventually I did find an apartment.

One problem is that in recent years HUD apartment buildings have been restricting tenants to those over 62, and so younger persons with MS would be excluded, but I don't think all of the buildings have this rule.

When you say you're not qualified for Section 8, you do know that there are Section 8 vouchers (which are usually very hard to get), on the one hand, and there is "project-based Section 8 rental housing" on the other hand? You can apply for a project-based Section 8 HUD building and might still be eligible for it even if you couldn't get a voucher.

It would depend on your income and assets and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Thank you for explaining the difference between project based section 8 and vouchers. I will look into that as a possibility if my apartment in Santa Barbara in taking too long.

[Jola]

I haven't been here for a short while, but this post caught my eye. I don't know where you live, but maybe the link below can help.

http://www.mymsaa.org/msaa-help/barrier/

I should have clarified my post. The link is for MS Housing. The requirements are the same as section 8, that the rent is subsidized. The housing is in New Jersey and North Caroline. If you are in those areas, it may be worth looking into.