LONGVIEW, Texas — For the first time in almost a year, the Longview Housing Authority opened its voucher waitlist and the numbers were shocking– receiving hundreds in just a few hours.
"We were surprised," said Richard Yeakley, city of Longview's public information officer. "In four hours, they had more than 900 people sign up to join that waitlist for that program."
Yeakley said inflation is hitting American's pockets hard, making the cost of living challenging for East Texans.
"We can see the economic trends that are going on in the community, the limit of the housing stock, that affects people," Yeakley said.
He said city leaders wish people didn't need housing assistance, but he's happy the city has resources available to help.
"We're glad to be here if they do," Yeakley said.
To compare, the last time the waitlist opened was in September 2021, which brought in over 1,000 applicants in a 24-hour-period.
The program allows one voucher per family and is based on income, household size, cost of rent and more.
It doesn't solely cover apartment rent. Recipients can utilize the financial support to invest in their future.
"A lot of times when we think of rent, we think of just kind of paying money and then not kind of investing are getting that developing that asset," Yeakley said.
The housing authority will sort through the applications and ask applicants to keep all their necessary information up-to-date to reduce the risk of losing their spot in line.
The next date for the waitlist is unknown at this time, but the city said to follow its social media accounts and website for the latest. For more information, visit the city of Longview website.