The Voucher Promise

"Section 8" and the Fate of an American Neighborhood

By: Eva Rosen

Narrated by: Xe Sands

The Voucher Promise examines the Housing Choice Voucher Program, colloquially known as "Section 8", and how it shapes the lives of families living in a Baltimore neighborhood called Park Heights. Eva Rosen tells stories about the daily lives of homeowners, voucher holders, renters who receive no housing assistance, and the landlords who provide housing.

While vouchers are a powerful tool with great promise, she demonstrates how the housing policy can replicate the very inequalities it has the power to solve. Rosen spent more than a year living in Park Heights, getting to know families and learning about the neighborhood's history. Voucher holders disproportionately end up in this area despite rampant unemployment, drugs, crime, and abandoned housing.

Exploring why they are unable to relocate to other neighborhoods, Rosen illustrates the challenges in obtaining vouchers and the difficulties faced by recipients in using them when and where they want to. Yet, despite the program's real shortcomings, she argues that vouchers offer basic stability for families and should remain integral to solutions for the nation's housing crisis.

Delving into the connections between safe, affordable housing and social mobility, The Voucher Promise investigates the profound benefits and formidable obstacles involved in housing America's poor.

©2020 Eva Rosen (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Excellent Field Research

Eva Rosen did an excellent job using field-based stories and narratives in examining and challenging programs and ideas around housing and housing policy. She leaves the reader with furtile ground to explore the next steps in creating more effective affordable housing practices.

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