Budget cuts reshape New York’s public housing, By Mireya Navarro, September 11, 2014, New York Times: “The crushing news came less than a year after Diane Robinson and her 24-year-old son moved into an airy two-bedroom apartment in the Bronx. The city, which helps pay her rent, wrote this summer to say she would have to downsize into a one-bedroom apartment or pay $240 more a month in rent. A public school aide, Ms. Robinson, 48, decided to stay in the apartment, in the Castle Hill neighborhood. But on an annual income of about $25,000, she is struggling, she said, and she does not know how long she can hang on. Moving to a one-bedroom apartment would mean that her son, a college student who works to help with food and utilities, would have to sleep in the living room. ‘My son works — he’s not entitled to have his own bedroom?’ she said. ‘Next thing they’re going to tell me is that I’m not entitled to a roof over my head…'”
Tag: Housing subsidies
Homelessness and Housing
- Spokane County survey finds homelessness is outside the box, By Jody Lawrence-Turner, February 9, 2014, Spokane Spokesman-Review: “Bobby Moore has two kids and no job. The 34-year-old has relied on friends for a place to sleep, but he’s tired of couch-hopping and the imminent threat of living on the streets. Moore is homeless. Nicholas Limbaugh is autistic and struggles to find work because of his social awkwardness. The 20-year-old lives in a shelter that helps young men. Limbaugh is homeless. Jason Frear lives in a tiny trailer along a dirt road with two other men. The metal trailer is propped up on rocks and has no sewer or electricity hookups. Candles light the inside at night after someone stole the car battery that provided electricity. Frear is homeless. Only a fraction of Spokane County’s homeless population – fewer than 100 – match the stereotype of homelessness. Instead of single men living under bridges or in cardboard boxes, Spokane’s homeless are more reflective of everyone else: They are married couples with small children, single men and women, teenagers and single parents. And they live in a variety of shelters, including abandoned buildings, motel rooms, campgrounds, bus and train stations, and cars…”
- Taking a new approach to end homelessness, By Lonnie Shekhtman, February 8, 2014, Boston Globe: “Roberitine Hunter, a single mother, ended up in a homeless shelter four years ago after a job-related injury forced her to stop working. She started getting back on her feet nearly two years later, when she received state housing subsidies that allowed her to get an apartment and child care for her young daughter. The next piece came when the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, which provided the housing subsidy, referred her to Jewish Vocational Service in Boston, which helped her earn a commercial driver’s license and land a part-time job driving a bus for company that transports people with disabilities…”
Evictions from Public Housing
Nonprofit points to benefits of preventing evictions, By Megan Woolhouse, January 23, 2014, Boston Globe: “The state could reduce homelessness and save millions in shelter and other costs by finding ways to prevent evictions from public and subsidized housing, according to a report by a nonprofit housing group. HomeStart Inc., in coordination with the Boston Housing Authority, used its report to track its efforts to intervene in evictions from public housing and to provide financial counseling to poor families. The report said Home Start has prevented more than 500 evictions from the authority’s properties since 2010, not only saving families from homelessness but saving taxpayers thousands of dollars…”