If you’re looking for subsidized affordable housing in Lakeland, it may be years before you get it, according to city officials.
The Lakeland Housing Authority opened applications at the beginning of August for Section 8 vouchers and public housing. Its executive director, Ben Stevenson, said 7,200 households applied; the agency currently has 1,525 vouchers to give out.
“We’ve had waiting lists for public housing and section 8 for years,” Stevenson said.
Seeing the substantial need, Stevenson said his organization has requested additional funding from the federal government to bring the total vouchers it can issue up to 1,800, but the request has yet to be approved.
“Our properties stay at 90 percent occupancy. That’s why you see us trying to build new properties. (For) every 10 families that need affordable housing, there’s only three units available,” Stevenson said. “There’s a huge housing shortage across the whole nation.”
Stevenson estimated the people on the waiting list could wait months or years to receive a voucher or access to public housing.
“We’re not even close to solving the housing shortage problem,” Stevenson said.
Editorial comment: The City Commissioner continues to hand out corporate welfare in millions of dollars to the new and current businesses in Lakeland, why? Those corporations should be helping to resolve these issues instead of collecting their own corporate welfare check from the taxpayers.