Section 8 crunch

Posted at 1:47 PM on June 12, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the expected crunch materialized in Minneapolis when the Section 8 waiting list was opened today (I wrote about this yesterday).

A News Cut reader writes this afternoon:

I was in a position to help someone try to get online today to apply for Section 8. The website was so overwhelmed it was impossible to even register. It's crazy that this is the preferred method of application as it completely overlooks the fact that many don't have internet access at their fingertips.

MPR's Brandt Williams, who's doing a story tonight on the subject for All Things Considered, e-mailed me this afternoon, saying "I was just at the North Regional Library talking to people applying for Section 8. They have about 16 computers there for folks to use to apply online." Brandt says the system was, basically, frozen.

He provided a picture of a small part of the line that extends outside the library, for an opportunity to get to the computer, to apply to get on the waiting list and maybe -- maybe -- get some rental assistance, perhaps, up to 7 years from now.

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