Waitlist for subsidized housing in Massachusetts is yearslong — despite ample amount of vacant units

Investigators have shed light on the public housing system in Massachusetts, which seems to be mismanaging millions of taxpayer dollars without providing services to the needy.

But the landlord wants her out by the end of the month and she can’t find anything else she can afford. She earns only a little more than minimum wage at a hardware store and often has to take unpaid time off because of health problems.

Libby thought she found a potential solution nearly a year ago: She applied for state public housing, a type of subsidized housing that’s almost unique to Massachusetts. But she’s heard nothing since.

"It’s frightening," she said. "I seriously don’t know what to do. It’s like the system’s broken."