July 24, 2004: Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed major changes to Section 8, including a $1 billion cut in funding for 2005 and rule changes that would have undermined the program. Section 8 is widely viewed as a very successful housing program that serves more than two million low-income families, seniors, and disabled people each year. Activists who advocate for affordable housing have charged that HUD funds have been diverted into the Department of Homeland Security. They have also pointed out that the national HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said this spring that “being poor is a state of mind, not a condition", a position that is the opposite of the views of many housing advocates. Polititians such as Representative Nancy Pelosi came out against the cuts.
The HUD proposal also would have restructured the program as a block grant, which would have meant that assistance would no longer keep pace with rising housing costs. As many as 250,000 families would have lost their voucher assistance in the first year alone if the committee accepted the proposal. This week the House Appropriations subcommittee rejected the Administration’s budget proposal that would have restructured and severely cut funding to the federal Housing Choice Program (Section 8). On July 22nd, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 2005 spending bill that restores funding for the Section 8 program and rejects the Administration’s proposal to restructure Section 8 as a block grant. The vote is a major victory for affordable housing advocates who have lobbied Congress ever since the Administration first proposed the changes.
Local Housing Activism:
A rally was held on Saturday July 24th in West Oakland to demand that an old train station be made into a museum for the Pullman Porters and that the building be used for communities. Activists in the historically largely-African American neighborhood see the preservation of African American historical landmarks and the construction of affordable housing as going hand in hand. Report
Section 8 tenants in the city of Alameda recently won a victory in their struggle to keep affordable housing. It was announced earlier this year that over 250 families in that city-- 14% of the total who receive Section 8 housing assistance-- would be cut from the program. After a several month fight, and with the help of groups like Campaign for Renters Rights, and lawyers from legal organizations like Bay Area Legal Aid and Sentinel Housing, over 250 families were able to turn back an attempt to cut off their section 8 vouchers and put them out in the street. 256 families were fully reinstated into the Section 8 program and all evictions were stopped. A protest was held in Alameda on June 25th. The Campaign for Renters' Rights and supporters marched and handed out flyers at the Fourth of July Parade in Alameda. July 10th Update about the Alameda renters
Other cities: San Francisco In Berkeley, property owners are concerned that federal efforts to keep Section 8 units below market rental rates will affect their own finances, so they will have to leave the Section 8 program. Section 8 landlords in Berkeley include a disproportionate number of people of color who own few apartment units and have many long-term tenants. Cuts to Section 8 have been affecting people all over the country. Lynda Carson's February 4th Update | May 31st National Update | June 5th Update | June 29th Update | July 7th Update and Letter on behalf of local Section 8 tenants to local senators and congresspeople
Law Center for Families | Alameda Housing Authority | Just Cause Oakland | Campaign for Renters' Rights | About the Campaign for Renters' Rights | Poor Magazine | SF Bayview | Bay Area Legal Aid | SF Tenants' Union | SFBG: Why is the San Francisco Housing Authority scared of powerful tenants? | National Low-Income Housing Coalition | Where is the Money: Ask Former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez
posted by mahtin @ 12:39 AM
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