Housing Choice Voucher Program provides a stable home for Dayton mother and her children 

Dayton resident Kaneika Lovett is a proud mother of two successful adults, but her journey was not so easy. Lovett, who works as a server and bartender at Olive Garden, relied on Housing Choicer Vouchers to provide a stable environment for her children when she was pregnant at 22 and working various jobs.  

 “My mom told me, and I didn’t understand it back then, but create a life for yourself before you make another one. And that is what I’ve been trying to instill in my children because I didn’t understand it at the time and now, I’m trying to get the life that I’ve always wanted for myself,” reflects Lovett. 

Greater Dayton Premier Management, The Local Public Housing Authority 

The Greater Dayton Premier Management (GDPM) is the local public housing authority which receives funds from the federal government and then provides resources for Section 8 vouchers to more than 4,000 low-income families in Montgomery County. The vouchers pay a percentage of rent based on income.   

But the demand is much greater. When the wait list opened this February for the Section 8 Vouchers, another 4,000 people applied. CEO Jennifer Heapy says, “Some people can wait three, four, five years before they get called that a voucher is available to them.” 

After a year and a half wait, Lovett found a place in West Dayton, one of the few areas that accepted vouchers. But over time as her children were growing up, concerns about safety, education, and access to food, began to weigh heavily. 

“It was just pretty much any other inner-city situation… kids are going to jail, getting killed, no one there holding them, helping them. The mothers are at work trying to provide a life for them and they’re left alone,” emphasized Lovett. 

Lovett wanted her children to thrive and not just survive. “If everybody you see is struggling to eat, struggling to live, just struggling to make it, then you don’t know that there’s people out here happy. There’s people out here eating two, three times a day. There’s kids that’s play in the park… I didn’t want my kids in an environment where I felt it was too, on a pathway to jail.” 

Building Blocks For Generational Change  

According to Heapy, healthy neighborhoods are building blocks for generational change.  “Research has shown that if you have a family, particularly with young children and before the age of 12, if they are moved to an area of opportunity, and that could be better schools, again, better access to healthcare, transportation, those types of things, that the cumulative impact far outweighs the cost of the subsidy,” conveys Heapy.   

But finding landlords in the private market to accept vouchers in an area of opportunity neighborhood is challenging. “They look down on the people who have vouchers because they think we’re getting a free ride, or we don’t try hard. You have to maintain income, keep your house up, there’s a lot of things that you have to do to retain the voucher… A lot of us work hard. We have jobs, we pay rent just like everybody else. It is just a little security that we do have in order to make sure that we have somewhere to live,” stresses Lovett.  

A Landlord’s Perspective  

While not all landlords think this way, many just don’t know about it. Joan Ulloth owns four rentals in Kettering and was unaware of the voucher program. She thought Section 8 was a complicated government program. “I’ve been in this business for close to 20 years now. I’ve had people say, do you take section eight? And I just said, no. And I didn’t look into it at all because it seemed like it was too big,” said Ulloth.  

When a tenant brought it to her attention, Ulloth decided to take a closer look. After reviewing it, she found the paperwork manageable and agreed to participate. “It’s detailed, but it is no more complicated than applying for a mortgage.” 

And during Covid, when some of her tenants lost their jobs, Ulloth went without rental income for a year. Vouchers for her ensure steady payments. “I’ve got a guarantee that you will get paid every month. That was a safety net for me,” says Ulloth.   

She believes vouchers are a good system but is aware of the stigma that still exists and says, “People believe that vouchers are given to irresponsible people, that somehow, they ended up being poor because they did something wrong and they might be unreliable…Well that’s true, any person could potentially be unreliable. Even if they have money, they could still be unreliable.”   

Only 43-percent of those who receive vouchers in Montgomery County are able to secure a place to rent.  To counter the shortfall of landlords, GDPM has education fairs, landlords’ outreach, and questionnaires to better understand their needs.   

Brick by Brick’s Ann Thompsons reports on how well Housing Choice Vouchers are working.

Heapy recognizes landlords are vital partners and recently hired a landlord liaison to streamline communication. “We fully acknowledge that we need landlords or vouchers will not work. So, we try and do as much as we can for the landlord, to be as efficient as we can be during the process,” says Heapy. 

Many landlords are advocating for improvements in this public-private partnership, including greater flexibility in inspections and less delays. 

“I did think that the expectation that I needed a smoke detector in every room was a bit ridiculous. That’s ok, we can deal with that. Those are not deal breakers,” insists Ulloth. She was equally surprised at some of the basic requirements for a rental that seemed obvious to her, such as glass in all the windows, locks on every outside door, and toilets that needed to flush.  

Homeownership Program Using Vouchers  

To help tenants build steps towards independence and self-reliance, GDPM also offers a Home Ownership Program. Heapy explains, “We work with the families and if they complete it, we have some partner banks, and they know how to use the voucher in the mortgage calculation and they can use that to purchase a home.” 

When Lovett first attended the center, she was full of doubt. “I didn’t know how to set goals, I didn’t know. I was afraid I didn’t have money. I was like, I’m not going to pay this credit off. I have bills to pay,” admitted Lovett.    

Over time Lovett learned new skills, boosting her confidence. “I had five things I need to get off my credit. I went and just tackled it. I prayed about it. I went to the library. I typed up letters to the credit bureaus… I got my score up.”   

The program helps tenants navigate a pathway to home ownership. “At the time, my rent was way more than what they told me my mortgage was going to be. It was like a $350 difference. So, it was either going to keep paying that somewhere where I didn’t have a yard for my dog, or I had to share a parking space with people or figure it out. So, I figured it out.” 

As she reflects on the path that got her here, Lovett is grateful for the housing assistance that helped get her to where she is today.  She is a proud new homeowner with her own driveway, front porch and fenced-in backyard. 

Lovett says, “I am a homeowner. I’m a homeowner. I’m not just a voucher holder. I own this. I worked hard for this and I’m going to continue to work hard for it.”  And Coco, her toy-sized Yorkshire Terrier agrees as she bounces around and plays in the backyard.  

What are some ways that you think could encourage more landlords to look into Housing Choice Vouchers and consider it? What do you think of the Homeownership Program and the use of vouchers? What do you think are some other ideas that help build steps toward self-sufficiency?

Emiko Moore – Multi-Media Journalist

Emiko Moore is a graduate of Ohio State University has been a freelance producer for NBC News for the last 20 years, covering stories in southwest Ohio and in the tri-state area. She also hosted The Lebanon City Show and was a print journalist for the Western Star, focusing on Warren County. Prior to moving back to her hometown of Lebanon, OH, she worked in NYC for NBC TODAY and NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation. As a volunteer with Building Bridges Community Conversations, Ishinomaki Playground Project, and Miller Ecological Park, she believes it takes continuous work to strengthen communities. She is excited about journalism that explores the issues while highlighting solutions to bring about positive change.