Northwest Indiana Discussion

Family to move into new home after woman completes housing program


Lawanda Taylor became a rich woman Thursday, at least in the eyes of her 7-year-old son.

Taylor was presented a check for $14,859.55 at the city of Abilene's Housing Authority meeting. The money is part of the Family Self Sufficiency program for selected participants in the Section 8 rental assistance program.

The presentation caused one of Taylor's sons, 7-year-old Isaiah, to proclaim, "My momma's rich!"

Taylor was in the self-sufficiency program for four and a half years. She and her three children, ages 12, 10 and 7, will soon move into a Habitat for Humanity home, which is being prepared for them.

To enter the program, families had to commit to written goals and a timeline of no more than five years for completing those goals. Goals could include completing schooling or job training, securing and holding a job, etc. Anyone failing to fulfill the contract or keep up with their timeline forfeited any escrow funds.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/j ... n-housing/

Housing Authority Official Lashes Out At Tribune Article

Peoples has been in violation of housing guidelines since November 2007. She lives by herself in a four-bedroom apartment and has defied multiple offers to move to a smaller apartment, per federal Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations.

Since January 2007, she also has been cited twice for nonpayment of rent and once for failing a housekeeping inspection.

The Tribune also reported on Peoples' efforts in recent months to discredit the authority by making false allegations of professional and sexual misconduct against two employees, including her former property manager.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jul/17 ... at-tribun/

UCBN leader steps down


UCBN was formed in the spring of 2006 in response to concerns from residents about renters who were receiving Section 8 housing subsidies and causing problems in their neighborhoods. The group was instrumental in pressuring the Contra Costa Housing Authority to deal with problem tenants receiving Section 8 subsidies.

UCBN has also been active in supporting the Antioch police, particularly the Community Action Team, which was formed to deal with residents creating problems in neighborhoods. UCBN has held two picnics in support of the police and organized two marches against crime.

http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.c ... leID=20022

Mortgage Crisis Spawns Class Action Alleging Harassment of Minorities


The real estate foreclosure crisis hit Antioch hard. In response, landlords and homeowners turned to renting homes to pay mortgages, often renting to tenants using federal rent subsidy vouchers, known as Section 8, according to Seligman.

By 2006, the inability of homeowners to sell homes allowed Section 8 participants to use their benefits to move out of urban centers to the suburb 40 miles west of San Francisco and to larger homes that might otherwise sit vacant, according to the suit.

The suit, Williams v. City of Antioch, No. C08-2301BZ (N.D. Calif.), states that the number of Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers grew in Antioch from 1,049 in 2003 to nearly 1,600 by 2007, representing more than 4 percent of the city's households. Many of the vouchers there are used by African-Americans, according to the suit. In the last five years, the number of African-Americans in Antioch has doubled, but still represents less than 15 percent of the city's total population.


http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423081291

Menorah Park settles suit brought by fired employee



According to court documents filed on behalf of plaintiff Bell, Myers required all tenants to purchase a package that included meals, cable TV, housekeeping and transportation services. This fee was in addition to the rent.

When Bell asked her supervisor if requiring the service contract discouraged poor and minority prospects from renting, she was told in essence “to mind her own business,” according to the court document. Subsequently, Bell anonymously asked a HUD representative about the mandatory service package and was advised that such a policy was illegal and violated specific HUD regulations, the court brief said.



Bell again voiced her opposition to the policy. Again her supervisor told her to “mind her own business” and return to work, the brief said.

Shortly thereafter, Menorah Park hired a “mystery shopper” to evaluate the services and personnel at its assisted living facility. The mystery shopper “singled out” Bell in explaining her negative rating of R.H. Myers, saying the admissions director exhibited unfriendly body language and did not have “a smile in her voice,” the brief said.

Soon after the mystery shopper’s report, Bell was fired, despite having previously received very good annual performance reviews, the court document said.


http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/arti ... ah0718.txt

Housing voucher use drops

The number of Evanston households using Section 8 housing choice vouchers has dropped 45 percent from a peak in 2003, even as the number of residents living in poverty has inched upward.

Voucher usage has fallen dramatically - from 1,123 n 2003 to 618 this year - though Evanston still ranks third among Cook County suburbs in the number of households using vouchers.

Affordable rental options for families with low incomes in Evanston have declined since 2000 and are non-existent for those in need of two- and three-bedroom apartments, according to a report from the Housing Commission. Nearly three out of five renters in Evanston are considered "cost burdened," meaning housing costs consume more than 30 percent of their household income.


Tough on the children
"I care more about (the anecdotal reports) of people doubling up in very insecure housing because of the difficulty finding rental housing that they can afford," Munro said. "People are in danger of being evicted, or are on somebody's couch or sharing an apartment and it is quite crowded.

"We don't see the homelessness, but people might not be living in conditions conducive to raising their children."

A City Council committee recently authorized the commission to convene a task force to develop a comprehensive approach to providing affordable housing.

Munro said the concentration of foreclosed properties on the west side may provide a window of opportunity for the city to take action, perhaps utilizing the threat of the vacant housing ordinance to induce lenders to sell the properties at reduced prices.


posting.php?mode=reply&f=6&t=3098

Economy creates concerns about Section 8

Friday, July 18, 2008

Many struggling to keep a roof over their heads
http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=264870

RENTON, Wash. - The down economy is causing new concern for those who need help in finding - and keeping - a roof over their heads.

Sandel Demantus lives on Social Security and federal housing assistance.

"I live on $900 a month," she said. "The gas and the electric is just killing me."

But for her and many others, bad times are getting worse

http://www.nwcn.com/business/stories/NW ... 54e4b.html

This community had a large influx of section 8 tenants and the crime rate went up 31%


http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.c ... leID=20025

This looks like a dream come true.

Get on section 8 and move to Antioch California and lay back and do absolutely nothing but disrupt the tranquility.

http://www.ci.antioch.ca.us/

Due to federal limitations on Section 8 funding, we had to cut 98 Section 8 vouchers," Young had said.


However, Patricia Campbell, regional public affairs officer for HUD, said July 10 that the cancellation in Section 8 vouchers had nothing to do with a lack of federal funding.

"Basically, what they chose to do was lease over their limit," Campbell said.

The Robstown Housing Authority has a baseline of 177 vouchers that it can issue and pay with using federal funds. However, if that number is exceeded, which the Housing Authority did by 43, federal funds cannot be used to pay for those additional Section 8 vouchers.

"They know very clearly that they cannot use HUD funding (for additional Section 8 vouchers)," Campbell said. "They have to use some other source of funding to support their vouchers...basically, they ran out of money."

However, a notice was sent to 98 residents June 24 that seemed to inform residents of an impending federal funding shortfall and cancellation of their Section 8 vouchers.


http://www.recordstar.com/articles/2008 ... ocal01.txt

5,000 apply for Section 8 housing



Tucson's Community Services Department received almost 5,000 applications for Section 8 housing over three days, a department administrator said.

That was more than twice as many as the official, Peggy Morales, expected to get between July 8-10.

The last time applications to the federally funded housing program were accepted - three years ago - the department received 4,000, Morales said. The submission period that time was 10 days long.

"I think (the numbers) reflect the need in the community right now," Morales said. "Things are really tough out there for everyone."

With about $25 million from the federal government, the Section 8 program pays part of the rent for about 5,000 Tucson families, Morales said. To be eligible, a family of four must make less than $16,500 a year, according to the department's Web site.


http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/91039.php

Harkless added that everyone must follow the rules.

Falbo said every potential tenant would undergo a criminal background check, a drug check and a credit check as a part of the standard operational procedure, adding there are "serious sanctions" for rule-breakers.



http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news ... 0247&rfi=6

Reading Housing Authority seeks to tighten rules on landlords


Reading, PA - The Reading Housing Authority is considering how to tighten requirements for landlords to get federal subsidies for low-income tenants after the authority discovered one of its tenants was among 12 families living in a condemned building.

One of the possibilities is requiring landlords to provide up-to-date city zoning and rental housing permits before being approved for the federal rent-subsidy program, known as Section 8.

The problem came to light when a toddler in another family fell from the roof of the condemned building at 620-622 N. Front St. on July 2, and later died.

Now the authority is seeking a list of the more than 300 condemned properties in the city to determine if other Section 8 tenant homes are on that list. The authority subsidizes the rents of about 600 families living in private apartments in the city.


http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=99938