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‘It’s like the real-life Hunger Games in America:’ Shutdown threatens HUD’s protections for vulnerable

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January 24, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EST
Jessica McBride, 33, packs up her apartment with her daughter, Aiyanna, in Largo, Fla., on Jan. 20. She is looking for an apartment that will accept her Section 8 voucher. “It's like the real-life Hunger Games in America,” she said. “It's the most vulnerable people that are being affected. The crisis isn't at the border, it's right here in America.” (Charlotte Kesl/For The Washington Post)

On the eve of the government shutdown in December, the Department of Housing and Urban Development assured advocates that all affordable-housing contracts expiring that month would be renewed and landlords would be paid.

If anything, a HUD official said, the shutdown wouldn’t have a serious impact on the nation’s supply of subsidized housing for the poor until February, according to Linda Couch, vice president of housing policy for LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit owners of senior housing.