Allentown Housing Authority To Open Public Housing, Housing Voucher Applications Process

Electronic Applications Will Be Accepted Throughout August

 

Allentown, Pa. – After a multi-year freeze for Housing Choice Voucher Program applications and at least 18 months since public housing applications were accepted, the Allentown Housing Authority is preparing to reopen the application processes during the month of August.

But this time, everything will be done on-line.

Applicants can go to www.apply.allentownhousing.org to find the application portal. In addition, computer terminals along with staff assistance, if needed, are available in the lobby of the AHA offices at Gross Tower, 1339 W. Allen. St. in Allentown, said Executive Director Dan Farrell.

“We purged our lists about a year ago and we were able to clear out several thousand names that have either found housing elsewhere or moved from the area because their applications were no longer current,” Farrell said. “That gives us the opportunity to re-open the application process for a limited time.”

The application window will close after Aug. 31 and AHA staff members will then begin processing the applications to find housing for the applicants, he continued.

The AHA closed all of its public housing waiting lists on Jan. 31, 2014 in anticipation of the switch to the online process. New applications have not been accepted since then and the existing waiting lists were purged to allow AHA representatives to create a fresh start for all applicants. At the time, Farrell said, many of the older applications had been left untouched for several years.

“We are using technology to make our application more available to the public and to give applicants an easier way to keep us informed of changes,” Farrell said.

Applications for the Housing Choice Voucher Program – informally known as Section 8 housing – had been closed due to a sufficient number of applicants and decreasing funding for assistance. The Voucher program allows applicants to apply to private, participating landlords for housing in lieu of public housing. Participants receive rent supplements that are paid to the landlords, and landlords must follow regulations and policies established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as the AHA to participate in the programs.

“We are going to paperless applications and applicants for both public housing and vouchers can check the status of their applications and make changes, as needed, while they are waiting for confirmation,” said Aida Nunez, Director of the Housing Choice Voucher Program for AHA.

Under the old process, “staff spent considerable time reaching out to applicants only to find out they have moved and not provided a forwarding address,” Farrell said.