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Making It in San Diego: City receives financial boost for Section 8 housing

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego County will receive millions of dollars to move more families into Section 8 low-income housing, the City of San Diego said Monday.

The San Diego Housing Commission is expected to receive approximately $20 million in federal funding that will go towards increasing rental assistance in the county. According to the agency, SDHC provides federal rental assistance to more than 15,000 households in the region.

The funding comes amid an affordable housing crisis in the county.

"There are many vulnerable households across the San Diego region that rely on rental assistance from the federal government to make ends meet and it's still not enough for some because of the high housing costs here," San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer said in a press release. "That's why we've been advocating so hard for years for additional funding from HUD that is more in line with the actual cost of living."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to increase rental assistance funding after SDHC requested HUD to reevaluate the rent levels used to calculate funding in the region in Sept. 2018.

"This is great news for San Diego," SDHC President & CEO Richard C. Gentry said. "These additional funds will help the San Diego Housing Commission raise its rental assistance payment standards again as we continue to help as many low-income families as possible pay their rent in the expensive and tight rental market in the City of San Diego."