Hundreds of children, women and men in Moorhead and Clay County might be homeless without the Moorhead Public Housing Agency and the Clay County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Now the two agencies are looking to consolidate one program under one roof.

Planning began about a year ago by the two agency boards. The proposed program consolidation is for the Housing Choice Voucher program only and is subject to pending Housing and Urban Development approval.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program is often called Section 8. Between the two agencies, they have 95 units in Moorhead and 360 units in Clay County. About 90 percent of the Clay County units are in Moorhead. The program uses the available private rental market. It provides payment to private property owners who are guaranteed a stable source of rental income.

Consolidating the program into one agency management simplifies things, making it easier for community members to access and use the program, Dawn Bacon, executive director of the Moorhead PHA said. “It also helps us operate as efficiently as possible, given limited resources,” she says.

Moorhead has 95 vouchers assigned to Moorhead Public Housing and an additional 24 vouchers for people who have moved from other areas under a portability provision.

The public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program are federally funded. Moorhead’s public housing program includes a high rise, a site designated for seniors and 30 scattered sites that include town homes and single-family homes.

Bacon says 50 percent of families in the Housing Choice Program include children, 17 percent in public housing. A high percentage of people served are over the age of 62 or live with a disability.

HRA Executive Director Dara Lee says HRA put more than $3.3 million into the local economy through housing assistance payments. Rehab construction payments will be about $1.2 million. That is just this year.

In January, HRA completed the purchase of the Fieldcrest Townhomes in Moorhead for more than $2 million. There is a current project-based Section 8 new construction rental assistance subsidy contract in place until 2020 and other restrictions until 2029.

Clay County’s HRA acts as part of the coordinated entry system into programming for West Central Minnesota and North Dakota.

Both Clay County and Moorhead PHA work collaboratively with shelters, transitional housing providers, community-action programs, Meals on Wheels, mental health providers and social services.

Among goals for the agencies is creating low and moderate-income family home ownership opportunities, and to assist low and moderate-income homeowners in making necessary repairs to their homes.

In a typical day, operations may be major projects like sewer replacement to regular maintenance like snow-blowing, lawn mowing or fixing a leaky faucet.

Clay County’s HRA has Group Residential Housing sites scattered throughout the county. The caseload for HRA is increasing to 700-750 people a month.

Both Bacon and Lee see a continued need for subsidized housing. They want toassure that suitable housing is available that blends with the community.

Last week news of a preliminary budget plan was released that would cut $6 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development funded programs. “This is very concerning. Affordable housing is a challenge for far too many people,” Bacon said, adding that affordable, safe and stable housing has been shown to have a powerful and lasting impact on the overall health and well-being of families.

“We want to have a good outcome for people,” Lee says. She liked what she saw in a program called HRA Cares for Kids. The program is for families who were homeless or who moved three times in a school year. A lifestyle that is in constant motion makes it hard for many children to learn and to grow socially.

Lee just completed a term as board president for Churches United for the Homeless and, most days, sees hope for children and families.

Both Bacon and Lee agree, stable homes help create stable communities.

To contact Moorhead Public Housing Authority, call 218.299.5458 and to contact Clay County HRA, call 218.233.8883.