CLEVELAND — EDEN Housing, a Cleveland-based nonprofit, is re-opening the waitlist for a voucher program aimed at helping low-income households that have an adult living with a disability.  

What You Need To Know

  • A Cleveland-based nonprofit, called EDEN Housing, is re-opening the waitlist for the voucher program

  • It is aimed at helping low-income households that have an adult living with a disability "have access to safe and affordable housing."

  • The application process will open on EDEN’s website at 12:00 a.m. on Nov. 13 and close at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 15.

“It is to help non-elderly households, where there is an adult family member with a disability, to have access to safe and affordable housing,” said Jessie Beck, director of Rental Assistance at EDEN. 

Beck said 350 qualifying households will get on the waitlist for a voucher that covers rent costs beyond 30% of a household’s income for wherever selected applicants choose in the county with a participating landlord.

The application process will open on EDEN’s website at 12 a.m. on Nov. 13 and close at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 15.

To qualify for the waitlist, a household must have an adult with a disability between ages 18 and 21 and a total income below 80% of the area’s median income.  

Those numbers are based on the number of people in the household. 

The last time EDEN opened this waitlist in 2019, Beck said they had over 6,000 applicants but could only place 600 in homes.

She anticipates they’ll get at least that many applicants this time around.

“There is absolutely not the available resources for housing that is demonstrated by the need I see every day for members of this community,” Beck said.

Rent in Ohio increased faster than income in 2023, according to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

Their assessment found that many Ohio renters are spending over 50% of their income on rent and utilities and are at risk of eviction and homelessness.

Households that have an adult living with a disability face even more barriers.

The Director of Fund Development and Communications at EDEN, Judi Engel, said they’re encouraging anyone who qualifies to apply, as they believe housing is a key social determinant of health. 

“You cannot address issues that you are having, be it with health, be it with employment, be it with education, you cannot be stable in general if you do not know where you’re gonna lay your head at night,” she said.

Beck said her team will be randomly selecting applicants for the waitlist with a lottery, and everyone will be notified whether they made the list via email. 

She’s hopeful each of the 350 families chosen for the waitlist will be placed in a home within a year.

While she’s eager to get started with that work, she can’t help but think of the families who don’t make the list.

“Housing costs are skyrocketing in this community,” Beck said. ”The wages that people earn are not keeping up with what that demand is, and that doesn’t just include housing. Again, it includes living expenses, child care expenses. Families are struggling.”

For more information on whether you qualify and how to apply to the Mainstream Voucher, click here.