EDEN's office hours are 8:30 am - 4:45 pm. While appointments are encouraged, vendors and visitors will be permitted at HQ or any EDEN site. Please call our main line 216-961-9690 for scheduling. | Questions? Email edeninfo@EDENcle.org and we will respond.
CLEVELAND, OH — EDEN, a Cleveland-based housing nonprofit that administers Mainstream Housing Choice Vouchers in northeast Ohio, is opening a Mainstream waitlist for vouchers it receives from HUD. The vouchers will assist families with one or more qualifying individuals in paying for a portion of their monthly rent directly to their landlord. The household or person will pay approximately 30 percent of their income toward rent, and EDEN will pay the remainder. The waitlist will be available online at www.EDENcle.org/form/waitlist starting 12:01 am on November 13; all applicatoins must be submitted by 11:59 pm on November 15, 2023.
The HUD Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program is designed to help individuals with disabilities live independently in the community. The Mainstream Housing Choice Vouchers must be used to assist non-elderly (between the ages of 18-61) persons with disabilities and their families. They are unique in that they can assist any household that includes a qualifying person lease affordable private housing of their choice.
“When the waitlist was last opened in 2019, we received more than 6,000 applications,” affirmed Elaine Gimmel, Executive Director of EDEN. She went on to state, “Given the current economic climate, we believe the need for affordable housing has increased, and this waitlist opening will be even more critical to our community. Our goal is to inform every possible resident of northeast Ohio who might be eligible for the program of this opportunity.”
The Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal program under HUD to assist households who fall below 80% of the area's median income with rental assistance. In addition, at least one family member must be a citizen, national, or noncitizen with eligible immigration status in order for the family to qualify for any level of assistance. The goal is to help these households afford quality, safe, and affordable housing in the private market.
At least one adult household member must be between the ages of 18 and 61 and have a documented disability. HUD has established that any one of the requirements below qualify an individual as eligible:
“The application for the waitlist is pretty easy to fill out,” continued Gimmel. “It asks for basic contact information—name, address, phone and email. Because we understand that people experiencing housing instability often change addresses, we are requiring an email address this year. Anyone who does not have an email address can get one at any branch of the library and can access it during open hours. This gives us a reliable means to contact those who are selected.”
“HUD has also expanded its demographic reporting requirements, so we also need information such as gender, race/ethnicity, veteran status, etc., for each member of the household. But that’s it – give us your contact information, explain your current housing situation, and then answer multiple choice demographic questions for each household member. That is all the application entails.”
“As we did in 2019, we will use a random number generator to select 350 of the applicants for the waitlist,” she added. “We will then notify everyone by email whether or not they are on the waitlist no later than December 1, 2023. Those who are on the waitlist will also receive a letter detailing any next steps.”
Anyone who wants more information about the program, can visit the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS page. If you have additional questions that are not answered in the FAQ’s page, email EDENmainstream@EDENcle.org or call (216) 462-0856. The answer to your question will be added to that page.
EDEN is a housing nonprofit based in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland. Since 1991, the agency has been providing housing solutions to those facing housing insecurity and homelessness across Northeast Ohio. EDEN serves approximately 5,000 households every year through its housing, programs, and services. For more information, please visit www.EDENcle.org.
Important Links::
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Applications for the waitlist will be available starting 12:01 am on November 13.
All forms must be submitted by 11:59 pm on November 15, 2023.
www.EDENcle.org/form/waitlist