In a sign of just how tight the Long Beach housing market is for low-income renters: the voucher program known as Section 8 recently opened for applications after having been closed for 13 years, and nearly 19,000 people applied.

Those who advocate for affordable housing in Long Beach say a combination of gentrification, rising rents and a low vacancy rate has contributed to the housing crunch.

“I don’t think there is any one thing you can point to,” said Josh Butler, executive director of the nonprofit Housing Long Beach. “I think in Long Beach, you have a perfect storm that creates an affordable housing catastrophe.”

After a 13-year closure, the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program saw 18,592 applicants file for help by the June 20 deadline, while the separate Project-based Voucher program received 14,345 new applications from veterans, seniors, the disabled, homeless, aged-out foster youth and persons living with AIDS.

Tom Hudson, 62, was lucky enough to land a Section 8 voucher after spending the last few years couch surfing and sleeping in homeless shelters for the last few years, ever since his publishing business went under.

“The most amazing thing to me is, I have a closet to hang my jackets in,” said Hudson, who now lives in an apartment on Chestnut Avenue.

Rising rents

According to a June report by apartmentlist.com, Long Beach placed fifth for California cities with the highest rent, and saw a 10.8 percent rent increase from May 2015. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Long Beach now costs $2,000, according to a July report by apartmentlist.com.

Just about 2 percent of apartments in Long Beach are vacant, Spencer Pabst of the Pabst Kinney brokerage told the Press-Telegram in June.

Hudson said he contributes $283 a month from Social Security for his one-bedroom unit, and Section 8 covers the roughly $800 balance.

Under Section 8, two-bedroom vouchers paid directly to landlords range from $1,342 in the downtown area to $2,013 in East Long Beach. The resident’s share of rent is typically between 30 percent and 40 percent of their adjusted income.

Hudson’s journey to a new home began when friends suggested he visit the city’s Multi-Service Center, which coordinates services for the homeless.

It took about 18 months to actually find housing, he said.

Meeting the needs

Section 8 housing is designed for those with very low household incomes, and those seeking help must first register for the waiting list.

About 75 percent of residents assisted by the Housing Authority earn 30 percent or less than the area median income. For a household of four people, that’s $26,050, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds Section 8 programs through taxpayer dollars.

Alison Whyte King, deputy executive director of the Housing Authority, said the Housing Authority in 2005 had about 5,500 vouchers to give. But the attrition rate — those who died, became self-sufficient or removed due to noncompliance — was only between 300 and 350 people per year.

Thanks to an influx of federal funding, the Housing Authority over the years has added more vouchers, including those specifically for homeless veterans.

The Housing Authority’s Project-based Program helps residents in designated apartment buildings, including locations for seniors and veterans, the homeless and disabled, and foster youth between 18 and 23 years old.

The program, along with Housing Choice, has grown the number of vouchers to about 7,400.

“We have increased the number of available vouchers over the past several years, however, it’s still insufficient to meet the needs,” King said.

‘Can you do more?’

The city of Long Beach is working on several affordable housing projects, but officials say the problem has been compounded by the statewide shuttering of redevelopment agencies in 2012.

“The affordable housing crisis, and it is a crisis, is not restricted to Long Beach,” said Robert Zur Schmiede, interim deputy director of Development Services. “It’s a matter of statewide concern. Redevelopment agencies were the single largest source of funding for affordable housing across the state.”

The city is looking into the availability of state and federal funding, and says it will continue to work with affordable housing developers on funding applications. For example, the City Council in May authorized the city and a developer to jointly apply for up to $17.7 million in funding for affordable housing for lower-income seniors and veterans.

“Can you do more? Of course you can do more, and it’s typically a function of available resources,” Zur Schmiede said. “Long Beach has probably done as much as any city in the state to create new units.”

Owners as solution

King said the Housing Authority is exploring ways to more quickly clear the waiting list for housing vouchers. She also called on more property owners to help combat the homeless problem in the city by accepting Section 8 tenants. The housing market is tight, and Section 8 till carries a certain stigma, which many owners don’t want to deal with.

“Owners for one reason or another don’t want to be bothered with a third party, but I need owners who literally are a solution to our homeless problem in our community,” King said.

‘A second lease on life’

Through the help of good-hearted people, including those at Garden Church who donated a sofa, a carpet and a refrigerator, Hudson said he was able to get off the streets and enjoy the comforts of home.

The first thing he did was decorate. Artwork of New York hangs on the walls. He pointed out photos of his children, including his son, Thomas Hudson, who died in 2013 after a car crash in North Babylon, New York. He keeps issues of fashion magazines he once published. His simple apartment is a long way from the good life he lived back east. But it’s a few steps from the streets of Long Beach.

“I love it,” Hudson said. “I got a second lease on life.”