MRPC News
September 1, 2005
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Bonnie J. Prigge, (573) 265-2993
HOUSING AGENCY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE
Waiting list relatively short
Persons needing assistance in paying their rents may find help sooner than in
the past, said Linda Hollandsworth, manager of the Phelps County Public Housing
Agency.
The PHA provides HUD rental assistance to very low-income families meeting federal
income criteria and other eligibility requirements in Crawford, Dent, Gasconade,
Maries, Washington and Phelps Counties, outside the city of Rolla.
Hollandsworth said the PHA is accepting applications and the waiting time is
shorter than usual, which means applicants may wait only two to three months
before receiving assistance.
"We have about 100 slots available and only 218 people on our waiting lists,"
said Hollandsworth. "About 50 percent of the people that apply for assistance
do not follow through, and basically remove themselves from the waiting list.
So if you divide that list in half and then consider that about 30 or so of
those won't show up for the initial briefing session or no longer qualify for
assistance, we are down to about 70 families on the waiting list. Then factor
in that another 20 to 30 slots will become available each month as families
drop off the program; It really isn't a long waiting list," Hollandsworth
concluded.
"If a family is in need of assistance, now is the time to contact us,"
Hollandsworth added.
The PHA, which is administered by Meramec Regional Planning Commission, takes
applications for rental assistance on Tuesday and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 11
a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at its office at 4 Industrial Drive in St. James.
Persons in Washington County can meet with housing staff and complete applications
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays in the lower level of
the Washington County Library, 235 E. High St. in Potosi.
The PHA is governed by an eight-member board that includes the presiding commissioners
from the counties served as well as two housing clients. Chairman is Crawford
County Presiding Commissioner Ed Worley. Vice chairman is Dent County Presiding
Commissioner Jim Biggs and secretary-treasurer is Gasconade County Presiding
Commissioner Ron Jost. Persons needing more information should contact the housing
office at (573) 265-4200.