Leaving Youngstown home after rent spikes, couple finds new challenges

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Edward and Melody Maddox never expected to be in their situation.

They lived in their home on Pasadena Avenue for over four years, before a new company, Youngstown Houses, LLC, purchased it from Gary Crim, Inc., as well as over 300 other properties in the city.

While the former landlord rarely raised rent, after a couple of rental spikes under the new company, the couple found their home becoming unaffordable.

They left, moving to their daughter’s home in Aurora, Ohio, while they looked for a new place. While they weren’t under the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) housing choice voucher program (formerly called Section 8) previously, they decided to apply after finding high rent prices elsewhere.

They applied in a couple of different counties and were told that their wait could be 18 months to 2 years.

“Really? I want to be at my daughter’s for 18 months? I love her to death and am truly grateful, but I want my bed, I want my furniture, I want to cook in my kitchen. I mean, I’ve been on my own since I was like 15 or 16 years old, and I’m now 56. That’s a big adjustment. You’re supposed to do for your kids; not your kids do for you, so it’s hard,” Melody said.

Their wait isn’t unusual, acknowledged Richard Monocchio, principal deputy assistant secretary of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing.

“Unfortunately, that’s not uncommon. In fact, that’s better than I’ve seen in several places… The problem is that only one in four people who actually qualify for a voucher, income-wise, get it, and as a result, the waiting lists are long or closed. On top of it… the unassisted person is obviously much more impacted by the increase in rent because they have to cover the entire cost,” he said.

Nationally, about 2.5 million households receive a voucher. In order to receive one, households have to be below 50 percent of the median income and must pay 30 percent of their income in rent.

In 2023, the average waiting time to receive a voucher was 25 months, according to data from HUD. That statistic only includes people who are currently receiving a voucher through HUD (people who are still on a waiting list or who were not able to receive a voucher would not be tracked). The average wait time has been consistent over the past several years, the data shows.

HUD does not track all of the applications that it receives.

Locally, the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority (YMHA) uses a lottery system for people looking to obtain a voucher. That is opened up about once every year and a half, and the last time a lottery was held, about 1,200 names were pulled.

The issue with the wait times, Monocchio said, is that rent prices have increased while the supply of housing has not. There is an effort to increase that housing stock, but it is not expected to happen immediately.

Melody and Edward receive payments through Social Security, but that income is limited. Edward had worked as a firefighter but now faces health issues.

Melody said they plan to stick it out at their daughter’s house until they can find a suitable home, saying much of what they found elsewhere was in poor condition.

“Me and Eddie both have had hard lives. We have raised our children. We have worked our butts off, and I feel we both deserve better. If it takes a little bit, then God be it, that’s what we’re gonna do,” she said.

They don’t plan to return to Youngstown’s South Side, saying they’re getting used to country living — including backyard bonfires with the family and all of the wildlife. The couple added that they didn’t see much of a response from city leaders when it came to their problems with what they described as an absentee landlord.

“If you’re on the South Side, you’re low income, you’re forgotten, and that’s wrong. We are just as much human beings and have rights and should be treated the same as the ones that live downtown and everywhere else, and they don’t focus on that. So nobody gave a darn, and it’s sickening,” Melody said.

If the Maddoxes do get a voucher, they may still have a challenge finding housing.

HUD’s data shows that there are 5,129,585 units of subsidized housing available, and about 87 percent of those are already occupied.

Monocchio said for that reason, HUD is now allowing and encouraging local housing authorities to help people find an apartment. He said that is one of the improvements that has been made since the program began.

He said they just need more funding to reach all of those who need help.

“Most housing authorities now are providing search assistance, paying a security deposit, if that’s what’s needed, maybe even holding a unit for a month to make sure that while the person gets their lease signed while the inspection takes place, that unit is still available to that tenant. So those are the kinds of things that we’re doing to improve the program,” Monnocchio said.
“But at the end of the day… it’s about resources, and that’s why this budget that President Biden’s FY25 budget is the most transformational housing budget in history. Because we need more. We need more houses and apartments, and we need more rental assistance.”

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