Lisa Addision

A local woman recently received a voucher after trying for five years to get Section 8 housing but she said it doesn’t do her any good because local rents are too high.

HopeYenell Ryans, 38, said once she received a voucher, she moved out of an apartment where she was living and started trying to find Section 8 housing but could not find anything.

Section 8 is a federal program geared to helping low-income families, the elderly, and disabled with finding affordable and safe housing options.

“It has been so incredibly frustrating,” Ryans said. “I’m staying at a hotel right now and I hate it because there is a lot of drug activity nearby so it makes me fearful to leave my kids there alone.”

Ryans said she has two sons, 15 and 17, along with a 20-year-old daughter and her daughter’s 5-month-old baby.

“I work and I’m in the process of going back to school too,” Ryans said. “I’m trying to better myself and I do my best every day but this situation just isn’t working.”

Ryans said she first felt like the Section 8 voucher was a blessing but now considers it more of a curse.

“What’s the point of a voucher if I can’t use it to find a place to live?” Ryans said. “The people at Section 8 want us to find places that are in the range of $800-$925 but the problem is that places are charging rents of $1,200 and up to $1,600 for some of the houses I’m looking at. I think that there are some good landlords but I also think there are some landlords that are price-gouging because they know they can get away with it.”

Ryans said she went to the offices of Section 8 this week and talked to her worker but has not been able to get any help.

She said she is working directly with the offices of Section 8 through the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, which handles Section 8 for places that are outside the city limits of Lake Charles. Section 8 within Lake Charles is handled through the Housing Authority.

“I left my worker’s office just bawling my head off,” Ryans said. “She listens to me and I believe she has compassion but she just isn’t able to help me. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Tarek Polite, Director of Human Services with the CPPJ, said she should not give up and that she may have to look for something further away than she had hoped for but still within the parish.

“It can be a challenge,” Polite said. “The problem in this area is two-fold: more reasonably-priced housing is needed and existing stock is getting older, which means more repairs are needed to those homes.”

Polite said the Police Jury is working along with other entities including the City of Lake Charles, the Housing Authority, the Chamber SWLA, and some local nonprofits to attain additional affordable housing in this area.

Debra LeCompte, a Section 8 supervisor at the Housing Authority, agreed that changes are needed, saying, “I wish a miracle could happen where we could have affordable housing for everyone and for it to take place today but I don’t foresee it happening immediately. If I could wave a wand and make it happen, I sure would.”

Ryans said she doesn’t want something for nothing.

“I want to pay my fair share and move forward but now I just feel stuck,” she said. “I need some answers and I need them soon.”

In the meantime, Polite said one option for Ryans and others who might find themselves in the same boat is to request a possible extension of the Section 8 voucher.

Polite also advised those with vouchers to not immediately make the leap from where they already reside until they have secured new housing.

“After receiving a voucher, the best thing to is find a place first and then give your landlord notice,” Polite said. “Otherwise, a person could find themselves in a situation they don’t want to be in.”HousingMGNonline