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Over a thousand brave freezing temps for Petersburg housing vouchers

Posted at 7:11 PM, Jan 22, 2014
and last updated 2014-01-22 19:11:09-05

PETERSBURG, Va. (WTVR)--They waited for a chance, a gamble that many knew might not pay off.

Hundreds began to line-up eight hours before the door opened at 10 a.m. Thursday, hoping that there housing voucher application would be approved

By 6:00 Tuesday morning, hundreds were standing outside Union Train Station in Petersburg, in temperatures that never got above freezing.

By the time the doors opened there were more than a thousand people waiting for a application that hasn't been available since 2007.

"Today is very exciting for us.  We are opening our waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program" said Nathaniel Pride, Executive Director for Petersburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

While most would have liked to see the day changed to when it was warmer, some were glad the day finally came.

"I'm hoping to accomplish to get a new home here, closer in Petersburg because this is where I work," Lakeshia Coleman said, who lives in Wakefield but works in Petersburg.