PART I   FALSE HOPE in Indiana. 

The HOPE VI project in Gary, Indiana according to the housing authority, represents one of a continuing series of major efforts undertaken by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to revitalize areas with severely distressed public housing throughout the nation.  The City of Gary's   public housing agency, the Housing Authority of the City of Gary (GHA) initially identified a 60 year old public housing development at its Duneland Village site as an area most in need of the type of comprehensive revitalization of existing housing stock and surrounding community promoted by the HUD HOPE VI grant program. In addition to the effort to replace the Duneland public housing stock in the city's east side Miller neighborhood with a new, mixed-income housing community; the GHA's HOPE VI project includes a plan to stimulate housing and community revitalization for whom  in the city's downtown Jackson Park neighborhood.  After completing what they call extensive preparatory work on the first phase of the HOPE VI project, GARY'S HOPE VI TEAM moved to implement the revitalization efforts outlined in its plan.    

 Guess who heads up the HOP VI team, none other than BLOW THEM UP JOE.

 Stay tune for a two part series about  FALSE HOPE in Indiana. 

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF NEEDS. THERE IS A LARGE GROWING NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. 

The need for affordable housing for very low income Americans has never been greater.  These needs have been communicated in a variety of reports: the State of the Nation's Housing, issued by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; and reports on America's housing needs by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the the National Housing Conference. It is claimed that the primary job of Public Housing Authorities is asset management.  The term asset management in the real estate field mean that property owners need to continually review the economics of their properties, including the project future income from each property, as well as the projected future costs associated with operating, maintaining and (where necessary) upgrading each property.   This topic is the genesis of the recommendations found in the Harvard Cost Study.  All of the topic issue's succinctly delineated in this message from the president,  I, believe starts to spell the end for subsidize housing, unless we as residents once again mobilize and fight the growing support to end affordable housing as we know it.  The problem as I see it is that, we as RESIDENTS only commit to a movement when there is a crisis, so for many, movements come and go.  I am from the years where movement is continuous because for us crisis is forever.    

 FY04 VOUCHER FUNDING 

HUD's attempt to solve the FY04 voucher funding problem by providing housing authorities with $150 million and by making slight changes to how it determines agencies funding appears to be another no brainier.  All of us remember in April when HUD announced a far reaching change in its policy for funding "Section 8" housing vouchers.    The new HUD policy will result in many state and local housing agencies failing to receive sufficient funding to continue supporting all vouchers now in use. HUD's new fiscal year 2004 funding policy which is distinct from an Administration budget proposal to cut vouchers funding sharply in in fiscal year 2005 and to covert the program to a block grant is compelling state and local housing agencies to institute cuts in assistance that will cause significant hardship among low-income families.  I believe this underscore's my foresight and concern about the END.       (more to come)