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Island families won't lose homes
Alameda plays fast and lose with the Section 8 renters in that City. On June 3, the LA times writes that the Housing Authority of Alameda will terminate 100 Section 8 vouchers from the poor. By June 5, the Alameda housing authority sends out notices to terminate 274 vouchers, and by June 25 takes a new position and claims they are to return back 105 vouchers. That still leaves 169 families dangling on the edge of becoming homeless by July 1. How did the list grow from 100 families losing their vouchers on June 3, to a new total of 274 families losing their vouchers by June 5? It appears that Michael Pucci inflated the number of those losing vouchers so that he could look good when he suddenly & mysteriously found money to fund 105 vouchers that were allegedly being terminated.
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/
0,1413,82%257E1865%257E2237117,00.html
EMAIL ARTICLE LINK TO ARTICLE PRINT ARTICLE
RENT, News 5
6TS0501A0626
105 families keep their homes RENT, from News 1
Article Last Updated: Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 6:50:36 AM PST
Island families won't lose homes
Residents in Alameda will retain rent subsidies thanks to cash infusion from outside sources
By Susan McDonough, STAFF WRITER
ALAMEDA -- In Alameda, 105 families are sleeping easier this weekend after being told Friday they will not lose their federal housing vouchers.
The Housing Authority of the city of Alameda is rescinding nearly half the 240 termination notices it sent out June 4 to families receiving Section 8 vouchers, said Michael Pucci, executive director of the housing agency.
Click below for full story...
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E1865%257E2237117,00.html
The families are able to retain their rent subsidies, he said, as money becomes available through various sources, including rent reductions promised by landlords and assistance from housing authorities in surrounding communities, including Oakland and Contra Costa County.
The news was met with relief, anger and tears as tenants recovered from an emotional few months when word on whether they'd receive their rent aid changed almost daily.
The local housing authority told the families June 4 they would be dropped from the subsidized housing program in July, just weeks after these same families and hundreds more sweated out news there might not be enough money in the program to pay the rent in June.
"I'm feeling good on one hand, and exhausted on the other hand," said Leatrice Toland, a gospel singer who was steps away from buying a bus ticket to Texas, where housing authorities are absorbing Section 8 transfers.
Now, she said, she'll have to replace the things -- dishes, linens blankets, etc. -- she sold as she prepared to move.
"They took us through a lot," said Toland, 26.
Lynda Carson, who helped organize a number of recent local protests on the Section 8 cuts, said she is "elated" the housing authority is "moving in the right direction."
Yet at the same time, she said, the reputation of the housing program has been sabotaged.
The drastic cuts left hundreds of people on the brink of homelessness and landlords wondering how they would make their mortgage payments.
"It hurt a lot of people," said Carson.
Alameda Vice Mayor Tony Daysog said new money in the Section 8 program buys the city time to figure out how to restore the hundreds of families still without vouchers.
Hundreds of Alameda landlords agreed to lower their rents to keep people on the program and vacancy signs from their front lawns.
The Oakland and Contra Costa County housing authorities have also agreed to take over payment for 40 families receiving vouchers through the Alameda housing program.
In the meantime, Pucci said, the agency is exploring ways to help the 130 tenants still without vouchers, including seeking additional money from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"It's not over yet," Pucci said.
Contact Susan McDonough at smcdonough [at] angnewspapers.com
0,1413,82%257E1865%257E2237117,00.html
EMAIL ARTICLE LINK TO ARTICLE PRINT ARTICLE
RENT, News 5
6TS0501A0626
105 families keep their homes RENT, from News 1
Article Last Updated: Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 6:50:36 AM PST
Island families won't lose homes
Residents in Alameda will retain rent subsidies thanks to cash infusion from outside sources
By Susan McDonough, STAFF WRITER
ALAMEDA -- In Alameda, 105 families are sleeping easier this weekend after being told Friday they will not lose their federal housing vouchers.
The Housing Authority of the city of Alameda is rescinding nearly half the 240 termination notices it sent out June 4 to families receiving Section 8 vouchers, said Michael Pucci, executive director of the housing agency.
Click below for full story...
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E1865%257E2237117,00.html
The families are able to retain their rent subsidies, he said, as money becomes available through various sources, including rent reductions promised by landlords and assistance from housing authorities in surrounding communities, including Oakland and Contra Costa County.
The news was met with relief, anger and tears as tenants recovered from an emotional few months when word on whether they'd receive their rent aid changed almost daily.
The local housing authority told the families June 4 they would be dropped from the subsidized housing program in July, just weeks after these same families and hundreds more sweated out news there might not be enough money in the program to pay the rent in June.
"I'm feeling good on one hand, and exhausted on the other hand," said Leatrice Toland, a gospel singer who was steps away from buying a bus ticket to Texas, where housing authorities are absorbing Section 8 transfers.
Now, she said, she'll have to replace the things -- dishes, linens blankets, etc. -- she sold as she prepared to move.
"They took us through a lot," said Toland, 26.
Lynda Carson, who helped organize a number of recent local protests on the Section 8 cuts, said she is "elated" the housing authority is "moving in the right direction."
Yet at the same time, she said, the reputation of the housing program has been sabotaged.
The drastic cuts left hundreds of people on the brink of homelessness and landlords wondering how they would make their mortgage payments.
"It hurt a lot of people," said Carson.
Alameda Vice Mayor Tony Daysog said new money in the Section 8 program buys the city time to figure out how to restore the hundreds of families still without vouchers.
Hundreds of Alameda landlords agreed to lower their rents to keep people on the program and vacancy signs from their front lawns.
The Oakland and Contra Costa County housing authorities have also agreed to take over payment for 40 families receiving vouchers through the Alameda housing program.
In the meantime, Pucci said, the agency is exploring ways to help the 130 tenants still without vouchers, including seeking additional money from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"It's not over yet," Pucci said.
Contact Susan McDonough at smcdonough [at] angnewspapers.com
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