TULSA, Okla. — Due to insufficient federal funds, Tulsa Housing Authority could be losing more than 800 housing vouchers.
While no one who currently holds a voucher will lose their rental assistance, once they fall off the program, their voucher won't be replaced for someone else to use.
“Our average family size is about 2.1, so that’s around 1600 Tulsans that don’t have that rental assistance that they so desperately need, especially in times that we’re facing now with rising rent and pay not keeping up with those rising rents," said THA's Vice President of Communications and PR Ginny Hensley. "It’s certainly not the time to cut or even maintain funding for housing programs, we need to be investing like we never have, but unfortunately, through 2025, that funding is flat, which is insufficient.”
THA's Section 8 voucher program is fully funded through the federal Continuing Budget.
President Donald Trump's proposed federal budget for 2026 is also a devastating blow for the housing agency.
If passed, THA's funding would be decreased by 43%.
"If the 2026 proposed budget were to come to fruition, even not in its entirety, even if a modicum of those cuts are made, it’s going to be devastating,” said Hensley.
While the funding is unstable, Hensley said they're going to focus on what they can hone in on building more affordable housing.
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Emeka Nnaka spent ten years as a voucher holder after a football injury left him paralyzed from the neck down.
"Couldn't go back to my house, didn't know what pieces I would need to build my life back up and housing authority was a huge help in that because I got set up with the Section 8 voucher program and was able to afford rent," said Nnaka.
Getting an accessible roof over his head was fundamental to Nnaka getting his life back together.
He said he couldn't think about school, work, or anything else until he felt safe with shelter.
After about a decade, Nnaka felt self-sufficient and was able to get off the program, but he said he wouldn't have been able to get things back on track without THA's support.
The possibility of hundreds or thousands who need support losing it to federal cuts, Nnaka said, would be a disservice to our society.
“I cannot imagine what the past version of myself would have done if I did not have the assistance that I did," he said. "We're facing a lot of threats to our social safety net, and when you cut a net, it compromises the whole thing, and so this is super important because we don’t want people falling through the cracks."
More than 10,000 Tulsans rely on housing assistance from THA.
But the impact wouldn't just be felt by those on the program — there's also a large economic loss to acknowledge.
“The loss of those 800 vouchers would equate to over 7 million dollars of rent subsidy that’s not paid to local landlords who rely on Section 8," said Hensley. "That’s federal dollars coming out of our community. Now is not the time to be cutting those housing programs and to not be supporting those landlords who are trying to keep their housing affordable.”
Hensley said this will only make the issue of homelessness across Tulsa increase.
THA's plea is for the community to contact state and federal legislators and advocate for the housing program's funding.
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