Support the 5000 Families Fund
What is the 5000 Families Fund?
The 5000 Families Fund (formerly the Virginia Housing Stability Fund) would provide long-term rental assistance through state-funded housing vouchers to approximately 5,000 households so that they would spend only 30 percent of their income on rent. Last year, Virginia’s budget required the Department of Housing and Community Development to create guidelines for how this statewide housing voucher program can be created in Virginia. With these guidelines, it is now time to advocate for funding so that these much-needed housing vouchers can be distributed to low-income families.
Why is the 5000 Families Fund needed?
An estimated 347,000 Virginia households need rental assistance but are not receiving it due to a lack of federal and state funding. Those who receive a federal Housing Choice Voucher wait an average of 35 months (almost three years) to receive the voucher. Further, nearly half of Virginia renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30 percent of their income on housing expenses. For extremely low-income renters, the cost burden is even more severe, with 72 percent of them spending over half of their income on housing expenses.
Tell lawmakers that more housing vouchers are needed in Virginia:
Sign the petition below to send Virginia legislators your message in support of housing vouchers. Legislators need to hear our stories. We encourage you to personalize your email by deleting our pre-written email and replacing it with your own story.
Read the petition
I am writing to express my support for budget amendments to establish the 5000 Families Fund, which will create a statewide program to provide housing vouchers to approximately 5,000 households in need.
An estimated 347,000 Virginia households need rental assistance but do not receive it due to a lack of federal funding and statewide rental assistance programs. The average wait time to receive a housing voucher in Virginia is currently 35 months – 8 months longer than the national average. Further, nearly half of Virginia renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30 percent of their income on housing, while 72 percent of extremely low-income renters are severely cost-burdened, spending over half of their income on housing. The Virginia Housing Stability Fund will provide much-needed rental assistance to Virginians and reduce the cost burden among renters.
Housing stability leads to improved outcomes around employment, health, and education. As COVID-19 rental protections and rent relief have ended, Virginia renters have been left vulnerable and evictions are surging. I urge you to consider housing stability, through the Virginia Housing Stability Fund, as one of your top budget priorities this year.