Locating Affordable Housing

Finding housing that is safe and affordable is particularly challenging now, but it is possible to find.

There are a number of people with disabilities who access affordable housing through the federal government Section 8 Program. Under this program, eligible participants pay 30% of their income for their housing. The housing must meet pricing and quality standards and the owner of the property must agree to participate in the Section 8 Program. Receiving housing through Section 8 is extremely valuable for people with a serious disability who have limited income. The problem with Section 8 is that the waiting list to receive a Section 8 voucher can be very long. Many communities only accept applications at certain specified times. Nevertheless, interested and eligible people should try to get on the waiting list as soon as possible. If you have a social worker, you could ask for their assistance or contact your local Housing Rehabilitation Authority (HRA) or Public Housing Authority (PHA).

A number of persons with serious mental illness receive housing support through the Bridges Housing Program. Bridges is a state program, which is available for persons with serious mental illness. The design of the program is similar to Section 8, but is restricted to people with mental illness. It can be utilized for the housing needs of the eligible person until their name comes up on the Section 8 list. Like Section 8, Bridges is not an entitlement program and its funding is available until spent. Because of the limited funding, there may well be a waiting list for it too, but the list would be shorter than the Section 8 list.

Most communities have some affordable public housing available for eligible individuals. Public housing is housing that is owned and maintained by the local public housing authority. These affordable units are site-based, rather that based on the housing voucher that the individual would have through Section 8. In other words, one would secure housing in the building and pay an "affordable" monthly rent payment, rather than receiving a Section 8 or Bridges voucher and finding an eligible place, which would charge about 30% of one’s monthly income for the rent payment.

  • HousingLink - Provides affordable rental housing information for the Twin Cities & Selected Regions of Minnesota