Hundreds turn out in Charleston for housing help

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — In a sign of the ongoing problems in the economy, hundreds of people turned out in Charleston to get on a waiting list for federal housing assistance that already has hundreds of names.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/tiWlLU ) 225 people lined up at a community center Thursday for a chance to get federal housing vouchers. The program gives people money so they can rent in the private housing market.

The problem Thursday is there are no vouchers now available and there are already about 400 people on the waiting list.

A local Housing Authority official says that even more people had been expected to turn up Thursday and while they may have to wait for help, at least their names are now on the list.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com