Thousands of Rhode Islanders are waiting for an affordable place to live with no end in sight.
The cost of living has gotten so expensive, public housing authorities aren’t able to provide as many housing vouchers as they used to, which means fewer people are getting the help they need.
Many of those individuals are on Rhode Island Housing’s centralized wait list, which sometimes can take years to get off.
Leah Meru Roseheart said she applied to the centralized wait list four years ago. “Here I am with no end in sight,” she said.
Roseheart collects $960 a month through social security after a PTSD diagnosis prevented her from returning to work.
She says the money she receives goes straight to renting an apartment in the private market. “It hasn’t exactly been ideal or inexpensive,” Roseheart said. “I don’t have money for clothes.”
When she initially got on the list, she had no idea it would take this long to find a unit.
“I knew that the waiting list can be extensive, but I had hoped that as somebody who is on disability, not just low income, but someone who actively is on Social Security, that I hopefully could get in a little bit faster.”
With roughly 30,000 Rhode Islanders on the centralized wait list, her case isn’t unusual.
R.I. Housing works with 17 public housing authorities in Rhode Island, allowing people to apply for multiple housing authority wait lists at once.
Michael Dichiaro, the Director of Leased Housing and Rental services at R.I. Housing, says each Housing Authority has its own preferences, which factor into how long you stay on the list.
The preferences range from people experiencing homelessness to those fleeing domestic violence and veterans.
When we asked whether being low income is enough to these days, Dichiaro responded, “Yes, it’s enough to get you on the list and get you qualified for the voucher, but you might not be selected because others with preferences may be ahead of you on the list.”
Katie Michaud, the assistant director leased housing at Rhode Island Housing, says even people who qualify for preferences are waiting longer than usual, as rising costs are driving up what housing authorities can spend on vouchers.
“People do wait a very long time to get housing help, it does take a long time for the vouchers to become available,” Michaud said.
The NBC 10 I-Team zeroed in on the numbers.
The West Warwick Public Housing Authority’s waitlist has been closed for eight years. It has 90 vouchers in total.
Coventry’s PHA has 282 vouchers, with 541 applicants on the wait list.
Providence’s PHA has 2,528 vouchers and 20,470 applicants.
Providence hasn’t selected anyone from the waitlist since January of 2024 and is spending over 100% of its budget due to the high rental market.
“We have seen the rise in cost and rents, so now it’s harder to house as many people because the individual renter subsidies are costing more per person, per household,” Michaud said.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average cost per unit for public housing authorities in Rhode Island has skyrocketed over 45% over the past decade, providing little hope to people like Roseheart.
“For the last four years while I’ve been waiting for the subsidized housing, I have been just trying to keep a roof over my head.” she said.