What is "section 8"

n. 1 (context US informal English) Federally subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals, formally known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program. 2 (context US military English) Discharge from the United States military for reason of being mentally unfit for service.

Section 8 or Section Eight may refer to:

• Section 8 (housing), a U.S. government-funded housing program
• Section 8 (military), a United States military form of discharge
• Section 8 (video game), a first-person shooter video game
• Section 8 (comics), an inept team of superheroes in DC Comics' Hitman
• Section 8 (album), an album by MC Eiht
• Section Eight (Artemis Fowl), an elite branch of the fictional Lower Elements Police
• Section Eight Productions, a company owned by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney
• Section 8 Chicago, the independent supporter's association for the Chicago Fire Soccer Club
• Section Eight of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Section 8 is a category of discharge from the United States military, used for a servicemember judged mentally unfit for service. It also came to mean any servicemember given such a discharge or behaving as if deserving such a discharge, as in the expression, "he's a Section 8". The term comes from Section VIII of the World War II-era United States Army Regulation 615-360, which provided for the discharge of those deemed unfit for military service.

Discharge under Section 8 is no longer practiced, as medical discharges for psychological/psychiatric reasons are now covered by a number of regulations. In the Army, such discharges are handled under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations. Chapter 5, paragraph 13 governs the separation of personnel medically diagnosed with a personality disorder.

Section 8 became a household phrase when used in the 1970s TV series M*A*S*H, in which the character Corporal Klinger was continually seeking one (until he eventually abandoned his efforts). Other pop culture references to the term include:

• The 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, in which a recruit (Leonard Lawrence, a.k.a. "Private Gomer Pyle") becomes noticeably unstable as a result of the abuse from his drill instructor and platoon-mates. Later in the film, it is mentioned again when Private "Cowboy" mentions how one of his recently deceased platoon-mates was about to be shipped out on a Section 8 for chronic masturbation.
• The 2003 movie Basic, in which DEA agent Tom Hardy investigates a group of rogue Rangers turned drug dealers calling themselves Section 8. They are later revealed to be a black-ops anti-drug unit led by Hardy (now addressed as "Colonel"); the "Section-8" insane-mercenary story is a cover to spook the cartels.
• The 2007 video game BioShock, in which Atlas, via radio, informs the player that Fort Frolic has been handed over to a deranged artist named Sander Cohen. "Cohen's an artist, says some. He's a Section 8, says I. I seen all kinds of cutthroats, freaks, and headcases, but Cohen's a real lunatic."

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 , often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 4.8 million low-income households, as of 2008, in the United States. The largest part of the section is the Housing Choice Voucher program which pays a large portion of the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million households. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development manages Section 8 programs.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides "tenant-based" rental assistance, so a tenant can move from one unit of at least minimum housing quality to another. It also allows individuals to apply their monthly voucher towards the purchase of a home, with over $17 billion going towards such purchases each year (from ncsha.org analysis). The maximum allowed voucher is $2,000 a month.

Section 8 also authorizes a variety of "project-based" rental assistance programs, under which the owner reserves some or all of the units in a building for low-income tenants, in return for a federal government guarantee to make up the difference between the tenant's contribution and the rent in the owner's contract with the government. A tenant who leaves a subsidized project will lose access to the project-based subsidy.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have created a program called Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), or HUD-VASH, which distributes roughly 10,000 vouchers per year at a cost of roughly $75 million per year to eligible homeless and otherwise vulnerable U.S. armed forces veterans. This program was created to pair HUD-funded vouchers with VA-funded services such as health care, counseling, and case management.

Section 8 is a fictional superhero team in the . The team first appeared in Hitman #18 (September 1997), and was created by Garth Ennis and John McCrea (with some slight, uncredited aid from Steve Dillon). The team's name is a pun on the military designation Section 8, which means "mentally unfit for duty".

Section 8 is a first-person shooter developed by TimeGate Studios and published by SouthPeak Interactive. It utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on September 1, 2009, on the Xbox 360 and September 4, 2009, on the PC in North America, September 11, 2009, in the UK and Asia Pacific, September 18, 2009, in the rest of Europe, and on the PlayStation 3 on March 25, 2010 in North America and April 15, 2010 in Europe.

Section 8 of the New York State Public High School Activities Association (NYSPHSAA) is a governing body for high school sports in Nassau County, New York. It is also known as Nassau County Public High School Athletic Association.

Section 8 is the fourth studio album by American rapper MC Eiht, released June 8, 1999 on Hoo-Bangin' Records and Priority Records. This was also his first album on Mack 10's label, Hoo-Bangin' Records. The album features production by Ant Banks, DJ Slip, Fredwreck, Binky Mack and MC Eiht. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 54 on the Billboard 200. One single, "Automatic", peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number 6 on the Billboard Rap Songs. Several guest performers appear on the album, including: Ice Cube, Mack 10, Compton's Most Wanted, Techniec and Val Young.

Along with a single, a music video was produced for the song, "Automatic".

The song, "Thicker than Water", was originally heard in the film, Thicker than Water, and was also released as a single and a music video to promote the film's soundtrack.