The Oak Park Housing Authority (OPHA) will accept pre-applications to add 150 new households to the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program that helps very-low-income households pay their monthly rent.
Formerly known as Section 8, the voucher program is a locally administered federal initiative that helps pay the portion of a program participant’s rent that exceeds about 30% of their monthly income.
The 150 new households added to the Oak Park list will be selected through a random lottery process from all pre-applications received between 8:30 a.m. on Mon., March 4 and 3 p.m. on Fri., March 15.
Pre-applications will only be accepted electronically through an online portal at www.oakparkha.org.
Assistance completing the online pre-application will be available through social service organizations listed on the same Oak Park Housing Authority website.
The federally funded program uses a local preference, with 90% of the households on the waiting list being Oak Park residents or current or newly-hired employees of local Oak Park businesses, so low-income Oak Parkers are strongly encouraged to apply.
The program currently provides vouchers to nearly 600 households within Oak Park.
More information is posted online at www.oakparkha.org.