What is section 42 housing?

Question about "Section 8" and other subsidized housing

• I've had some interesting encounters with people living in subsidized housing. It's made me question the way we help people in this country. For instance, there are some low-functioning adults living in my apt building. The units are co-ops, and clearly someone is paying for them to live there. The residents are healthy-looking male adults, and seem intelligent enough to carry on a decent conversation. All they seem to do all day is walk around, go on occasional group activities, and buy snacks from the minimart across from the street. I wonder who is subsidizing them? Is my monthly maintenance (common charges plus taxes) higher because these people are in the building? And why aren't they required to work or perform in some way in exchange for housing and pocket money to buy snacks? My building could be cleaner - why can't they be put to work helping clean the place? Another situation is this - I did some computer work for a woman in a nearby small city. She promised to pay me and has only paid half. Every time I call her to collect the rest, she says she doesn't have a job. But she still has a phone, and is able to buy food, etc. When I called the local dept of Housing, I found out that she is living in "section 8" housing, and can live there indefinitely! This is a nice apartment in a private three-family home! My questions are these - why aren't people who are clearly given decent housing and pocket money to spend being required to do some kind of work, even if it's just pushing a broom on a city street? I'd like to know if anyone else thinks that people who are getting this type of assistance should be required to do something for it. I suspect I'm not alone. In addition, I'd like a suggestion on how I can inquire specifically about the subsidized people in my apt building, without sounding like I want them out of there, or that I'm a heartless jerk.

• Answer:

  Greetings, pcventures-ga! This is a tough question and yes it is somewhat subjective but I will try and give it an answer. Working promotes self esteem and good health, though many assistance programs in the United States don't literally force people to work to be eligible for benefits. Granted, some programs are limited and there is a set amount of time a person can stay on them. "Workfare" was a program that went hand in hand with Welfare to help transition those who are "low functioning" as you put it into the workforce. Some people legitimately can not work and their disability may not be obvious by looking at them. Perhaps they have some kind of mental incapacity. It can be argued though that those with mental challenges are still productive members of society through programs designed to help them -- look at McDonald's and other such restaurants who employ persons with Down Syndrome and those persons perform well. It leaves precious little excuse for those who are living in your building, I'd guess. Each state's Housing Authority has their own ways of dealing with the program but there are the basic requirements for any Section 8 Voucher recipient. Here is a partial list of the responsibilities of the recipient: "What are my family obligations under Section 8 programs? Your family obligations under the Section 8 program are: to not commit any serious or repeated violation of the lease; to supply all necessary information to the HA for the administration of the program and for use in the re-certification process; to allow the HA to inspect the premises at reasonable times after reasonable notice; not to commit a breach of the Housing Quality Standards; to notify the HA before vacating the unit; to promptly give the HA a copy of any eviction notice; to use the unit only as a residence and as the family's principal residence..." Section 8 Certificate & Vouchers: Denial or Termination of Benefits http://www.nwjustice.org/docs/6113.html NeighborhoodLaw.org touches upon the discrimination factor: "Landlords can question how a tenant will pay rent as one factor in selecting tenants. However, if the Section 8 voucher will enable you to rent the apartment, the landlord cannot choose to turn you down just because you have a Section 8. If a landlord has told you that he or she refuses to rent to you because the rent is more than 30 percent of your income, he or she may be discriminating against you. Discrimination comes in many forms. Some discrimination is overt and obvious such as comments or intentional conduct. Other discrimination can be subtle. Some discrimination may not even be the intent of the landlord, but still has a harmful effect." NeighborhoodLaw.org http://www.neighborhoodlaw.org/page/137657&cat_id=1499 There is a contract between the recipient of Section 8 Vouchers and the Housing Authority. The HA provides a portion of the rent payment to the landlord and the voucher recipient agrees to fulfill the requirements. Also, the landlord has a contract with the HA to accept the voucher and abide by the rules of the program. You might be interested in knowing that recipients may use Section 8 vouchers in the purchase of a home, at least in Glendale, CA: "The Department is pleased to announce that rental Housing Vouchers can now be used for the purchase of a home. Instead of the HA payment being made in the form of rental assistance, the same payment amount will be made to the mortgage lender or bank financing the family's home purchase. The family pays the difference between the voucher mortgage assistance payment and the full amount of the monthly home loan. The Home Ownership plan is available for families enrolled in the Section 8 Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS). Under this new program an FSS family can draw down on its FSS escrow account, and combine with first-time buyer funds made available from the Department to qualify." City of Glendale - Community Development & Housing http://cdh.ci.glendale.ca.us/faq.asp#7 I found a Website that explains how Section 8 works. It's not like Welfare, in which the recipient receives money from the government and does not have to pay anything at all. Section 8 requires the recipient to pay a percentage of their income. "What is Section 8? Section 8 was established in 1974 by the Housing and Community Development Act - part of the “war on poverty”. It was based on 20-year contracts between housing & apartment owners and the federal government - with many of these ending by 2006. Section 8 allows low-income families, who meet certain criteria, to receive housing payment assistance. Eligible families pay a maximum 30% of their income towards rent, and HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development provides the rest up to a certain maximum rent. Section 8 is not an entitlement program. It is not available to all the families who need & are eligible for it. It is funded by the budget process & if need is greater than funding, low-income folks do not get Section 8, but go on very long Section 8 waiting lists. In 1983, the Section 8 voucher was introduced. The government said it would let renters “have greater freedom of choice to select housing where they want to live within a standard rent range”. Vouchers do not guarantee there will be landlords who will accept the voucher as payment for rent - so having a Section 8 voucher does not mean you have Section 8 housing!" OLIVE BRANCH COMMUNITY Section 8 & Public Housing in the Age of Globalization provided by Project South http://www.olivebranchcommunity.org/s8.htm New York has a PDF document that explains how Section 8 works there. They specify that "UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING SECTION 8 HOUSING ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS EXCEPT THOSE IN THE FOUR EMERGENCY CATEGORIES LISTED BELOW. 1. VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2. HOMELESS 3. INTIMIDATED WITNESS 4. ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES (ACS) FAMILY UNIFICATION AND INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAMS" New York City Housing Authority Guide To Ssection 8 Housing Assistance Program http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/pdf/070213.pdf There is, thankfully, a program called WorkFirst. Here is a description of it plus who must participate in the program: "What is WorkFirst? In August 2002, changes were made in the WorkFirst program. The intent of DSHS is to ensure that mandatory WorkFirst clients participate full-time or face sure sanction. Almost all families who get TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) must participate in Workfirst. Most parents must do a job search program and take a job if one is offered. Who must participate in WorkFirst? Adults and teens over 16 must participate in WorkFirst. Parents or caretakers who are "personally needed in the home" to care for infants under the age of 3 months are exempt and are not required to participate effective July 1, 1999. Parents may be exempt for a total of 3 months for each infant. There is no limit to the number of times the 3 month exemption can be used, however, remember that your 60 month lifetime limit for cash benefits continues to run even while you are using the exemption. Beginning June 13, 2002 a parent with a child between 4 and 12 months old will only be required to participate for 20 hours per week." http://www.nwjustice.org/docs/7126.html#a "What is an Individual Responsibility Plan? An Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP) sets out the things the recipient needs to do to get a job in the shortest time possible. An Individual Responsibility Plan includes support services which are services needed to address personal or family problems which interfere with a recipient's ability to find employment. The plan also includes "WorkFirst components" which are activities and experiences that will allow the person to become employed. There should be start and end dates for each activity listed. The IRP should be completed together by the recipient and the case manager. It should be changed as necessary as the recipient moves through the program or circumstances change. See our publication titled Workfirst Individual Responsibility Plans for more information." Government Benefits Questions and Answers About Workfirst http://www.nwjustice.org/docs/7126.html#a So it does seem that public assistance recipients are required to work, or at the very least be actively searching for a job. There is also vocational training available to adults who may have a low skill set. The work requirement has of course been attacked by many as "discriminatory" or "anti welfare". I found an article criticizing public assistance programs that you may find of use: "In addition to finding out that materialistic assistance programs don't work, we are also learning something about what does. A multitude of private programs to help the needy have been developed in recent years. These range from the many organizations affiliated with John Perkins's Christian Community Development Association to independent substance abuse programs like STEP-13 in Denver, Victory Fellowship in San Antonio, and private shelters like the House of Hope in Chicago. The leaders in these programs have found that uplifting the needy is essentially a psychological process, not a material one. It requires an intricate blend of love, discipline, guidance, praise, and inspiration. In other words, the needy can't really be helped by mere material assistance-which is what government is good at-and what they do need is genuine personal involvement-which government is bad at providing." What Works against the Welfare State? by James L. Payne http://www.objectivistcenter.org/articles/jpayne_review-a-life-of-ones-own.asp You may also be interested in a book I found available at Amazon.com (there are 27 sample pages available for viewing). Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy by Martin Gilens Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226293653/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/103-6581137-7139841 Another article I found looks at the arguments for and against Welfare, coming from an ethical point of view. Here's an excerpt: "The Argument Against Social Welfare The cornerstone of the argument against social welfare is best summarized by Charles Murray in Losing Ground: [The welfare] program, however unintentionally, must be constructed in such a way that it increases the net value of being in the condition that it seeks to change--either by increasing the rewards or by reducing the penalties. In this way, the U.S. welfare system actually makes poverty more attractive--perhaps even to those who would otherwise have been motivated to work and support themselves. As Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich writes in his essay "Renewing America," "The welfare system has sapped the spirit of the poor and made it harder to climb the first rungs of the economic ladder." Such a system not only leads welfare recipients to become satisfied with lives of "subsidized idleness," but it also places an unfair burden on the workers who must pay for the program, Gingrich continues. Why should working taxpayers be forced to take fiscal responsibility for those who do not take responsibility for themselves?" The Welfare of the Community By Joseph Westfall http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n3/welfare.html A general rule is that the Republican Party is "pro-personal responsibility" while the Democratic Party believes in funding government programs for those "in need". You might look into the platform of the Republican Party if you haven't already. Your point of view seems to sway in that direction though you may also want to look into the Libertarian Party as well. These political parties may be able to put you in touch with those who share your views. Republican National Committee http://www.rnc.org/ Libertarian Party: Home Page http://www.lp.org/ Democratic National Committee http://www.democrats.org/ I hope this information proves helpful to you, pcventures-ga. It was very interesting to research! Sincerely, Filian-ga SEARCH STRATEGY: Federal housing against Section 8 housing requirements for Section 8 voucher "anti Welfare" against welfare anti section 8 housing Republican Party Democrat Party Libertarian Party