Short Takes

September/October 2000

Short Takes Welfare Reform Logic, Part II Back to Table of Contents	If what's happening in Seattle is any indication, welfare reform is putting people out of work, too. Citing lighter caseloads, Governor Gary Locke has laid off 40 percent of the social workers at Seattle's Belltown office. Real Change reports that the cuts are so severe that the office's head administrator resigned in protest. Despite welfare reform, the office was already only able to meet the needs of 85 percent of those who came for help. Not exactly a case of overstaffing. And like everywhere else in the country, though the caseloads have been reduced somewhat, the cases that remain are the ones with multiple complications, requiring the most attention. Let's hope this does not become a trend. (Real Change, August 1-14,2000) - www.realchangenews.org.

Too Much Housing?	It's a problem housing advocates in hot markets can barely imagine. Syracuse, New York, has too much housing. According to The New York Times (July 28, 2000), the Syracuse Model Neighborhood Corporation, a CDC, has only built one house in the last two years. "There's no demand," Director Thomas Francis told the Times. Government and civic leaders have formed the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative, which has received $15 million in federal funding, to demolish abandoned houses - and not rebuild them. The land will be used to make bigger yards, driveways, or garages. In other words, to the likely dismay of Smart Growth advocates, to make the city more like the suburbs. Those who live near the ubiquitous abandoned structures say it can't happen too soon.

Hungry? Fill Out This Form...	If you're starving and need food stamps in Minnesota, be prepared to answer 36 pages worth of questions to explain why. A survey just released by America's Second Harvest details hurdles like this facing hungry citizens, and finds that many are not only burdensome, but are not required by federal law and often have the effect of keeping people from receiving assistance they need and to which they are entitled. The study was prompted by declining participation in the food stamp program in the past four years while the number of citizens who are "food insecure" remained constant at 31 million and demand at hunger relief agencies rose. www.secondharvest.org/policy/food_stamp_exec.html.

Good News or Bad News?	Home mortgage data released by the Federal Reserve indicates that conventional mortgage lending to low- and moderate-income borrowers increased 100 percent from 1993 to 1999, and climbed 119 percent for African Americans during those six years. The overall increase in conventional lending was only 60 percent. National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) President and CEO John Taylor cautions that more must be known about the causes of this "lending spike to the underserved," because of the rise in subprime and predatory lending practices in minority neighborhoods. Taylor reiterated NCRC's call for the expansion of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data to include the annual percentage rate and loan terms. NCRC, 202-628-8866.

Home Sweet...Tent?	Farmworkers in Washington State's cherry industry are facing a multitude of problems, including permanent housing. Lupe Gamboa of the United Farm Workers is "disappointed' and "appalled" over Governor Gary Locke's farmworker housing plan that emphasizes temporary housing in the form of mobile "tent camps." Gamboa says such housing provides growers with a rootless, disenfranchised underclass of migrant workers, and points out that 80 percent of the workers in the cherry industry are "settled" and need permanent affordable housing. Workers in the tent camps also face health problems, overcrowding, and lack of potable water. (Real Change, July 15-31, 2000) - www.realchangenews.org.

Supportive Housing Has Positive Impact	A new report from HUD User illustrates that supportive housing can have a benign or even positive impact on a neighborhood when public education and other "community entrée" strategies are combined with careful siting and property management. The Impacts of Supportive Housing on Neighborhoods and Neighbors: Final Report also shows that the presence of supportive housing does not devalue surrounding property (in fact frequently increases it), and does not increase criminal behavior. HUD User, 800-245-2691; www.huduser.org/publications/pdrpubli.html.

"All" Americans Say...	A National Association of Home Builders survey purportedly showing that Americans like suburban sprawl has been deemed "of questionable value" by an upstate New York weekly newspaper. The Buffalo Beat claims that the survey is biased in favor of suburban homeowners, since 81 percent of the survey respondents live in single-family homes and 71 percent are in households of married couples. By contrast, single, childless people - who tend to prefer city living, according to the newspaper - constitute only 19 percent of the survey's respondents. The Beat also says many of the survey questions were slanted in favor of suburban-style living. (Urban Ecology, Summer 2000) - www.urbanecology.org.

PHAs Sue HUD	The New York City, Auburn, and Plattsburgh New York Housing Authorities have filed a lawsuit against HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and the agency to make them provide funding assistance for 6,983 state-assisted public housing units, saying it's required by the 1998 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act. HUD says that would "federalize" those units, a violation of the VA/HUD Appropriations Act for 1999. "HUD understands there is a genuine need for additional financial assistance for state-developed public housing in New York State," says Lisa MacSpadden, HUD spokesperson, adding that the need was created by the state's failure to provide adequate funding. "Any additional federal funding must be authorized and provided by Congress." New York City Housing Authority, 212-306-3322; Lisa McSapdden, HUD, 202-708-0685.
Copyright 2000 Back to September/October 2000 index.