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Arguments, fights and even riots have have been rare, but persistent occurrences during Section 8 waiting list openings that require applicants to visit an office. Long lines form for several hours, people who are in desperate need of assistance confront each other, and the process to receive an application is similar to what happens during Black Friday sales. However, efforts are being made to put an end to these unfortunate scenarios.<\/p>\n
Presently, as Americans become\u00a0more reliant on Internet access, numerous\u00a0housing authorities in the United States have adopted new policies to operate waiting lists online. These online waiting list pre-applications have allowed offices to better organize\u00a0their waiting lists, but\u00a0an\u00a0arguably more\u00a0significant positive consequence has been the\u00a0prevention\u00a0of confrontations and injuries\u00a0during scheduled openings.<\/p>\n
In Person\u00a0Section 8 Waiting List\u00a0Openings<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u00a0is no exaggeration in saying\u00a0that riots have broken out\u00a0during in-person waiting list openings.\u00a0Just like with Black Friday sales, when you announce a valuable resource of very limited volume and create only one channel for that resource to be obtained, there will be many\u00a0people competing for that resource.<\/p>\n In August 2010, the East Point Housing Authority in East Point, GA <\/a>(7 miles from Atlanta, GA), opened its Section 8 waiting list to distribute the 455 vouchers available at that time. Waiting list pre-applications were only available in the office. The housing authority anticipated a line of about 10,000 prospective applicants, but 30,000 showed up in the 90+ degree weather.<\/p>\n Although\u00a0the housing authority stated that\u00a0everyone in line would receive an application, hundreds were in line even two days before the waiting list opening, and tension reached a breaking point.\u00a0Fights broke out, children were trampled, and police\u00a0put on riot gear to control the crowd. Not even considering the violence, The dozens of people waiting in line were treated for\u00a0heat exhaustion after standing in line for hours in extremely hot temperatures. Several local news outlets wrote about the incident, including The Huffington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n East Point, GA Riot<\/p>\n