PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the first time in more than 12 years, the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has opened a lottery for new applications for its Housing Choice Voucher program.
The lottery opened on Monday, but not long after the online application went live, it crashed due to the extremely high demand. Rain didn’t stop folks from showing up at PHA’s North Philly headquarters to instead apply in person.
“It’s extremely hard to live out here without some kind of assistance,” said Edwardo Cartegena, who was on the waitlist for two years. “So hopefully I can get a place and move on and be more focused on my health instead of my overhead.”
The program offers assistance to low-income families who want improved living conditions at affordable prices. Ten thousand people will be randomly selected to join the new waitlist, and the first 2,000 selected are expected to receive vouchers this year.
PHA President Kelvin Jeremiah said Monday’s turnout emphasizes the dire need.
“This is the biggest, poorest city in the United States, and we know that there is a housing crisis that confronts us,” he said. “This is one attempt to help get at the problem.”
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Brittany Brooks is eager for the chance at homeownership.
“I’m hoping I’m one of the people that’s on the list,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for a long time. For a minute I thought I was never going to get one, but with this lottery I feel like it’s possible.”
The lottery is open now until just before 6 p.m. on Feb. 5. Recipients will be notified in March.