Linee Matthews’s family roots run deep in Southampton, N.Y. So deep, in fact, the were planted before it was even called Southampton.
Ms. Matthews, a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, grew up here on territorial land. “I lived here as a child with my mother,” she said.
But when she became an adult and started a family, it was difficult to find a place with enough space for her three children. She applied for and received Section 8 assistance, a federal program that provides subsidies in the form of vouchers to help pay for rent. But even with a voucher and a steady paycheck, she couldn’t find any housing options.
So in 2009, Ms. Matthews and her family moved off Shinnecock land and found a home in Riverhead, N.Y., 19 miles away. It was in Riverhead that she learned how difficult it could be to find a landlord willing to accept a Section 8 voucher, despite protections in the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that make it illegal to reject an applicant because they are enrolled in the program.
“Still, it happens,” said Ms. Matthews, 49. “Some landlords, if they’re not already familiar with the program, they do sometimes discriminate because they feel like Section 8 tenants are all on welfare. A lot of landlords don’t understand there’s regulations for both the landlord and the tenant to keep the property safe and healthy.”
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The post In Southampton, N.Y.: A Long Wait for Section 8 Housing appeared first on New York Times.
