KALAMAZOO COUNTY – United Way of South Central Michigan’s Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care (CoC) program is working with community partners and local government to assess the impact and find solutions for hundreds of people impacted by a state funding decision that went into effect July 1. 

Michigan State Housing Development Authority officials have announced that due to budget shortages, the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will not release any new vouchers for the foreseeable future. All HCV waitlists will be closed to new additions. During this time, no names can be added via the homeless preference. Additionally, recertifications of homelessness of those who were on the list will not be accepted.  

In Kalamazoo County, there were more than 450 individuals and families on the waiting list for the federal program, all of them with income levels between 0-30% of the area median income. The 863 individuals and families who currently have Housing Choice Vouchers in use through the program will not be impacted. 

“We are currently in a housing crisis, and this new development only exacerbates an already constrained situation,” said Patrese Griffin, director of the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care program. “The CoC recognizes the issue that there is no affordable housing available for many individuals and families in our community.” 

Housing Resources, Inc., which serves as the Housing Assessment Resource Agency for Kalamazoo County, is awaiting guidance from MSHDA on next steps for the waiting list, Griffin said. In the meantime, Housing Resources, Inc will assess the list, and the Continuum of Care teams are in discussions with local municipalities including Kalamazoo County, the City of Kalamazoo and the City of Portage to identify immediate, short, and long-term solutions. 

The pause in applications applies only to the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist; other housing subsidies, including the Project-Based Voucher program, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, and Stability Voucher program, are not impacted. 

Individuals and families currently on the waitlist can expect to be contacted by Housing Resources in the coming weeks to ensure they have an active intake for housing assistance outside the HCV program.