HUD Awards Housing Vouchers To Help Address Homelessness In Norman

The Norman Housing Authority has extra housing vouchers to address housing needs in the community.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the Norman Housing Authority with 30 housing vouchers. The Norman Housing Authority said they typically administer around 1,200 vouchers a year, but the additional 30 vouchers are considered necessary in the Norman community.

“Our Section 8 program currently has 406 families on the waiting list, so we always have a pretty healthy waiting list and I think that's one of the reasons why HUD (Housing and Urban Development) deemed us as an appropriate candidate for the additional vouchers,” Norman Housing Authority executive director Karen Canavan said.

According to the recent point in time count, there were 80 households that were homeless which comes out to be 106 people.

The Norman Housing Authority said these emergency housing vouchers will help be a huge help to the homeless community and other groups in need of housing assistance.

“It's going to go towards the homeless, the near homeless, the at-risk of homeless, those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking,” Canavan said.

People approved for a voucher can then take it to a rental property that meets specific requirements.

“It has to be safe, decent and sanitary and it has to fall within a certain range, because obviously, we can't approve paying $5,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment,” Canavan said.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s additional 30 vouchers is on top of the 75 mainstream vouchers awarded to Norman’s housing authority back in March.

Officials said those vouchers are still available.  

“The mainstream vouchers they also target the homeless at-risk of homeless and that same group, but they have another targeted group and that is a household that consist of a non-elderly disabled person,” Canavan said.

Right now, Norman Housing Authority is processing applications. The vouchers will go into effect July 1.