Cyan Pride had to stop herself from telling everyone she saw about her good news when she recently learned she received a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher.
“I’m a really expressive person,” she said, grinning. “I talk a lot.”
The 23-year-old had been living in the YWCA Family Center shelter with her 7-year-old son, Cy’Meir Pride, for a few weeks when she found out late last year that she could get a voucher to help pay for housing — potentially “for life.” (That’s as long as her income remains within program limits, and she meets all program obligations.)
She called the moment life changing.
“I was so happy,” said Pride, who didn’t know she was eligible for a voucher and was going to try to afford an apartment on her own or with temporary help from the nonprofit Home for Families. “I was excited. I wanted to tell everybody.”
She said she was evicted from her apartment last year because she was late on rent and wasn’t given the opportunity to pay it late.
Then, in early February, Pride learned that she was getting a voucher after three months at the shelter and about two months of waiting. She qualified so soon because she has lupus, a disease where the body’s defense system attacks healthy cells and tissues, causing damage to many parts of the body. She hopes to move into her new apartment this month.