free housing for cancer patients
Eli Hodges
St. Louis City’s Housing Authority is working with Saint Louis University to expand its affordable housing. The goal is to provide more housing for patients coming to St. Louis for cancer treatment.
The Housing Authority is offering free housing for cancer patients who need a place to stay between six and 12 months, which means their rent will be paid for by the Housing Authority, including utilities and insurance.
Hodges is facing cancer for the third time and says he didn’t think he would need help when he was first diagnosed in 2011. But, this time it’s worse and he needs housing because he’s battling cancer.
He says he’s disappointed that the Housing Authority didn’t do anything in the last four years.
“We pay for insurance ourselves because if we had to pay that, we wouldn’t be able to take that much time away from our jobs,” Hodges said.
Hodges’ wife Stacey Brackenridge says they were hoping that housing would be offered as an incentive to help their children move away from St. Louis. They want to move away, so their children could be closer to family.
But, Hodges says St. Louis officials told him that the housing would not be free for him.
“I thought that there would be some type of funding incentive. For a lot of my patients who aren’t making as much money, I thought it would be reasonable for them to be able to live close to their family and be able to help the kids,” Hodges said.
According to Hodges, the Saint Louis City Housing Authority provided him housing in 2010 and 2012.
According to the St. Louis Housing Authority, it currently has $50 million available for housing projects. It also says its largest program is the College Campus Housing Program, which offers subsidized housing for low income, minority, and disabled students.
The Housing Authority also says it provides housing for free for active military veterans.
