There are about 3,000 homeless persons in the county and 9,5000 families on public assistance housing waiting lists. "There is a serious need in Montgomery County," Montgomery County Planning Board's Sally Roman tells GlobeSt.com. "I think the county has been a leader in low-income housing initiatives like the moderately priced dwelling unit program, and it's been on the forefront of providing mixed-income housing. The problem is federal funding is becoming less and less available."
The government-sponsored Section 8 program and tax credit incentives for developers are not enough to accommodate the demand. Roman continues, "the federal government made a decision in the early 90s to emphasize homeownership, which is great, but people coming out of homelessness aren't in a position to buy a house." Despite the lack of federal assistance, she says her department, as well as other relevant county offices, are "cognizant of the problem and we're trying to include it in our planning."
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