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Housing aid in Walworth County can take 27 months

ELKHORN — The Walworth County Housing Authority rental assistance program has reached its longest waiting list in at least 14 years, an official said Monday.

Sarah Boss, executive director of the housing authority, said the waiting list for the Section 8 Rental Assistance program is between 26 and 27 months.

That's up from the average 15 to 20 months in previous years.

Qualifying individuals are required to pay 30 percent of their gross annual income in rent. The program, which is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays the rest.

Unlike other places, Walworth County gives low-income residents the option of finding their own apartments as long as landlords agree to participate in the program.

The average cost per unit was $332.75 in 2008. Boss was unable Monday to provide a specific dollar amount for the program's total budget.

The program serves about 380 Walworth County residents but has 450 applications on file, Boss said. The housing authority is out of money and has stopped taking applications until those enrolled stop receiving assistance.

"Usually, participants can remain on the program as long as they're eligible," Boss said. "We could have participants who have been on the program for 20 years."

One such case is 45-year-old Doreen, who lives in Elkhorn.

She hoped to move out of the house she shares with her husband because they were having problems.

"I cannot afford to live with just my income," she said.

Doreen asked that her last name not be published because her husband is not aware of her desire to move out.

Doreen has been on the waiting list for about 15 months. Because she's hopeless about prospects of moving out, she has tried to work things out with her husband.

Rock County has similar waiting lists.

Marc Perry, director of planning and development for Community Action, a non-profit human services organization that serves Walworth and Rock counties, said the Rock County waiting list is two to three years.

And that's for the lucky ones who can get on the list.

"Even to get an appointment is 22 to 24 months out just to get certified to be on the list," Perry said.

According to Perry, most people resort to short-term assistance or transitional housing programs, increasing the number of transients in both counties.

"They can only afford what they can," Perry said.

"And that's why you have some people living on the street—because they can't afford anything."

The Twin Oaks Shelter for the Homeless in Darien sees 60 to 75 families each year at a total cost of $200,000 per year. The men's shelter in Delavan, operated by a group of local churches, houses between eight and 20 guys on a given night.

With employment rates at almost 18 percent in Rock County, Perry said, the billion-dollar question is what those without jobs, money or assistance do to survive.

Doreen doesn't know the answer, either.

"I just don't know how people in my situation or less are even making it," she said.