The Lakewood Tenants Organization, (LTO)  which administers one of 3 local HUD-funded rental assistance programs, will hold its annual meeting at the Municipal Auditorium tonight, beginning at 8PM. The meeting is open to the public. LTO helps over 1000 local families receive HUD Section 8 housing subsidies. The program began in 1977 with just 80 slots and has grown steadily since. 

Approximately another 1,300 Lakewood families are assisted thorough the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and the Lakewood Housing Authority (LHA), which administer parallel Section 8 programs.

Long waiting lists are standard in virtually all 3,400 Section 8 agencies in the nation, as demand for this assistance far outstrips severely limited federal funding.