The Crossings at Fourth and PrestonThe wait is over for nine homeless people in Albemarle County who were promised a move into low-income housing by March. The county will pick up the tab for their stay at The Crossings at Fourth and Preston.
Wednesday Albemarle County supervisors voted unanimously to spend county funds in order to move nine homeless people into The Crossings as soon as possible.
Federal vouchers were supposed to be ready in March. However, nine people who were promised homes remained on the streets due to a misunderstanding between Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Albemarle County Housing Authority.
The county and private investors will pay $5,000 a month to compensate for federal vouchers that have not been approved yet to move them in as soon as possible.
Ken Boyd of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors said, "What the board agreed to do yesterday is fund it for up to a year, starting in September. So it would take them through September 2013. We hope we don't have to do that, we're hoping HUD will step up."
Supervisors just learned they will need to revise how they use all the federal dollars that come in from HUD. HUD will review changes made and then they will be able to approve housing vouchers for The Crossings.
Boyd says this approval could come as soon as September, at which point Albemarle County will not have to spend $5,000 a month - and HUD will pay for the nine people to live at The Crossings.
