Public/Subsidized housing? [xposted from the other one per recommendation]

Hi Seattle-ites. I'm a completely solo mom with quite a few kids and bottom barrel income while we're trying to get our bearings after a mess of a family crisis. Up until last year my husband and I were homeowners in an upper middle class neighborhood with amazing schools, typical two parent family with two cars and everything. He made some decisions that changed everything for all of us, so this is my only real option while the kids and I rebuild.

In talking with our case manager, she said we absolutely qualify for subsidized/low income housing and would receive preference because of our income level alone. The waitlist is 1-3 years, so I'm already aware of that, but does anyone here have any experience with Seattle's housing program? Or have any anecdotal information about the specific neighborhoods where the mixed income housing units are located? We would need a 4 or 5 bedroom (I have an adult disabled child, so there's discussion if that allows us a 5bed). If we are allowed any choice whatsoever, I'd like to try and lean towards areas that are less awful, of course. My kids already just got the deck stacked against them in a lot of areas, so finding a stable place to live with decent schools would be a huge help for their future.

I'm reasonably familiar with the issues of public housing and the projects already. About 20 years ago I was a single mom in the projects in another (smaller/shittier) city for a little over a year, until we got back on our feet again. The thing is, crime was incredibly high and the gangs and drugs were rampant. It was an awful place to raise kids, and I only had two little ones at the time. It looks like Seattle has put some effort into making the family public housing areas safer, especially in the mixed income areas, but I'm sure there are still some that are better or worse than others.

In doing some research, it looks like Rainier Vista, NewHolly, and Greenbridge are the best options, but I'm open to any suggestions too. The application lets me pick two property preference areas, so I want to make sure and make the best of a fairly frustrating situation.

Thanks for any help or suggestions, and if there's a better sub for this question let me know.

Submitted July 25, 2016 at 06:15PM by MsDocVollensteen http://ift.tt/2asY3e1