Affordable Housing Assistance in Grand Junction

A story about how resources such as the Grand Junction Housing Authority can assist with housing

Story By: Katie Shepherd, Sacred Spaces Editor

Photos By: Grace Metcalf

Housing can be a dilemma for a lot of people in Grand Junction, but the city has a housing authority that can help people find affordable housing.

According to the Common Sense Institute, 60.4% of the homeless population in Grand Junction remained unsheltered in 2021.

Grand Junction Housing authority helps provide housing for the citizens of Grand Junction that may need more assistance.

“Grand Junction Housing Authority believes in housing for all,” their website says.

“Housing authorities are ‘creatures’ is the word I use. Creatures of the local units of government as well as creatures of the state,” Scott Aker, chief operating officer, said.

If you want assistance from the Grand Junction Housing Authority, you first start out by filling out an application. This is the same application that everyone else has to fill out to be put on a waitlist, so that equal opportunities are being provided amongst all applicants.

“It’s actually not just one list, our so-called waitlist is actually a combination of about a dozen different waiting lists. Each property has a waitlist. There are different types of vouchers that have their own waitlist,” Aker says.

You need to be sure that you are fully prepared to fill out that application, including having your documentation ready for when you are filling out the forms.

“Documentation is probably the thing that slows people down the most,” Aker said.

The housing authority has many different areas that they are proficient in.

“We have just shy of eight departments in our portfolio and we also manage what most people know as Section Eight: Rental Assistance,” Aker said.

The housing authority is also planning to build new affordable housing which will be over by Community Hospital. However, the process is complicated.

“The way you pay for affordable housing is significantly different than how you build market-rate,” Aker said.

The housing authority has been around for quite some time in Grand Junction.

“This is our 50th year in operation,” Aker said.

\ There are also other resources to help people of Grand Junction find affordable housing, such as Housing Resources of Western Colorado.

“Our mission is to advance equitable housing and healthy communities through education, empowerment, development and preservation,” their website says.

They serve much of Western Colorado and break down what services that they provide in which county, including upcoming services for each county.

Both resources have websites where you can go access them online to be able to get further assistance.