Our investigation found that one cause of the prolonged vacancies is the flawed online waitlist system the state rolled out four years ago. Massachusetts replaced town-by-town waitlists with a single pool of applicants that 230 local housing agencies draw from. But the state failed to implement an efficient system for selecting potential tenants. Understaffed and underfunded local agencies have to screen applicants for income, criminal background and other eligibility criteria. Apartments are left in limbo as some candidates turn out not to qualify. Applicants often indicate they would accept housing in many towns, but then reject offers from communities that are far away from their current location.
Deb Libby, a Worcester grandmother with pancreatic cancer, has been on the waitlist for state-funded housing for almost a year. Credit: Jesse Costa/WBUR “I think it’s the most horrible, horrible, inefficient program,” said David Hedison, executive director at the housing authority in Chelmsford, a town 30 miles northwest of Boston. He said the agency spent six months contacting 500 people who were on the waitlist for a three-bedroom apartment, before it finally found one who responded and qualified for the unit. “The whole sense of helping residents in your community is gone,” he said.
Horrible inefficiencies and a terrible process. Good journalism and some terrible governance.
So basically the state has been ignoring the need to get funding for maintaining the units (a lot have been condemned) and to get additional staffing to screen applicants
Mass made a switch from local housing authorities having their own application system to a statewide online version. Ideally it sounds good, however there weren’t enough people to screen through the apps fast enough. And like online job apps, there is a way to “game the system” and loads of people would mark their interest in living everywhere, but would rather live in only one area
Basically a half-baked solution that the state fails to correct despite the 5-10 years of complaints from those working in the system asking for improvements