Pushed To The Brink Of Homelessness

Pushed to the brink of homelessness

HUD funding cuts hurt the disabled and chronically ill

By Lynda Carson February 22, 2006

Landlords and Section 8 tenants across Marin County are being informed that their existing contracts will no longer be honored by the Marin Housing Authority (MHA), and some tenants have received notice that they must relocate from their current residence, or face the loss of their Section 8 vouchers.

Wheelchair bound Christine Mc Pherson, is one of the disabled or chronically ill Section 8 tenants of Marin who were double-crossed and shocked! Shocked to receive notice that her existing Section 8 contract would no longer be honored by the MHA, and that she will have to move or lose her Section 8 voucher.

"It's so unfair," said Christine Mc Pherson. "The Marin Housing Authority puts so much pressure on us with time limits to find a home and landlord willing to accept a Section 8 voucher. Especially one that is willing to accomodate the disabled."

"My landlord has been wonderful and has done a great job to modify the premises to accomodate my wheelchair," said Mc Pherson. This is the nicest place I have ever resided in with a Section 8 contract, and now the MHA is claiming they will no longer honor our contract after my landlord did so much extra work to accomodate my needs."

Mc Pherson suffered a serious auto accident in 2000, that left her with a broken back and stuck for life in a wheelchair to get around in. "I'm scared," said Mc Pherson. "With a broken back I can't survive on the streets. I can't drive, I have no strength, and at 57 years old, I feel very weak. I could'nt pack up to move, even if I tried. I feel all alone, and do not know where I can find enough money for a new security deposit, even if I could move," Mc Pherson said.

In a December 9, 2005 statement from Carolyn Russo of the Marin Housing Authority to Mc Pherson, it states, "Marin Housing is terminating the contract with the owner as of February 28, 2006. Should you hold over the rental unit past that due date, you will be responsible for the full rent without any subsidy. Your voucher would be terminated and reissued to another household from our waiting list."

Outraged by the MHA's harsh policies, the medical staff and supporters of Mc Pherson have jumped into the fray at this point, and are in opposition to the inhumane treatment thats threatening to dump Mc Pherson onto the cold hearted streets of Marin County.

In a statement dated 12/20/05 from Michael Witte MD., of the Point Reyes Medical Clinic to the Marin Housing Authority, he says, "Christine Mc Pherson is a patient of ours who has become disabled due to a motor vehicle accident in 2000. She is unable to ambulate and spends time in bed or her wheelchair. She has chronic pain issues and it would be a hardship for her to be forced from her residence to another one. She is unable to manage daily activities much less locate a new apartment."

A January 31, 2006 statement from Ray P. Seet MD., to Carolyn Russo of the Marin Housing Authority states, "Ms. Christine Mc Pherson is a patient of our clinic. She is being treated for unstable spinal fracture mid back with chronic intractable pain and is dependant on her wheelchair. She requires a 2 bdrm apartment so that she can have a live-in attendant, and has difficulty moving due to her orthopedic condition. Please allow her to remain in her house for medical reasons."

According to a February 7, 2006 statement from Mc Pherson's landlord at SCI REALTY of Marin County, she moved into her residence in December of 2002 and is an excellant tenant.

"When Christine moved into her unit in December of 2002, the owner willingly installed handicapped access through her back yard including a new fence and gate for her use. This is truly a residential neighborhood, with all of the duplexes being on cul-de-sac streets, and it is a very quiet and safe neighborhood."

"We are not terminating Christine Mc Pherson's lease. Housing authority has unilaterally lowered her rent to $1,400.00 per month, which is not acceptable to the owners because it is way below the rent reasonable standards for these units in this location," says Roger Kachler the property manager for SCI Realty.

Joan Winn is a Section 8 tenant, a friend and ex-neighbor of Mc Pherson, who had to come up with $5,000.00 in moving expsenses after she was recently told by the MHA to move, or lose her Section 8 voucher. She is also a cancer patient trying to survive, is married, and has lived in Marin County for many years.

"It's criminal the way they are treating my friend Christine Mc Pherson," said Joan Winn.

"I'm angry with the housing authority because their not more supportive. I'm on chemo due to the cancer that I'm battling, and it's nearly impossible for the sick and disabled to keep up with the demands of the housing authority lately. We're up against the wall of high rents and timelines," said Winn."

"There were six families in our complex with Section 8 vouchers that have to move after the MHA decided they would no longer honor our contracts. It was Carolyn Russo of the MHA who told me that I needed to get a transfer voucher, or give up my Section 8 voucher to someone else. It cost my family $5,000.00 to relocate and the MHA almost made us homeless after they terminated our last rental contract. When landlords hear about the way the MHA fails to keep up with it's contract obligations, it just makes it that much harder for us to find a landlord willing to take a chance with Section 8 tenants," Winn said.

"My husband and I were very fortunate to come up with the $5,000.00 needed to relocate and we found a nice place in Novato after four months of searching. It was a real battle to get into the new place because the MHA tried to keep us from moving in. Their trying to make it impossible to remain in the Section 8 program. But, we did'nt give up and finally moved in. Novato is a safe quiet place, but the city ignores the disabled community and there is no disabled parking to be found anywhere in this town."

Christine Mc Pherson and Joan Winn, are only 2 examples out of thousands in the San Francisco/Marin and Alameda County areas that are facing the loss of their housing, because the Bush administration reduced the value of their Section 8 vouchers by as much as 13 percent or more since FY 2003 ended.

A BUREAUCRATIC NIGHTMARE:

Christine Mc Pherson and many others across the nation have been unknowinglly caught up into a bureaucratic nightmare ever since August of 2004, when HUD announced that it was rolling back the existing Fair Market Rents in different parts of the country.

Suddenly, low-income people across the nation were soon to discover that the local housing authorities were not going to honor their existing rental contracts, because the value of their Section 8 vouchers were reduced.

For some, the policy went into effect the moment they tried to relocate. For others, it took a year or more for the policy to go into effect, and it caught up to them when they tried to renew their existing contracts.

Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are used to calculate how much a Section 8 voucher is worth in various parts of the country. When the feds (HUD) rolled back the FMRs in the San Francisco/Oakland/Marin metropolitan areas, many tenants and landlords were later too find out that the existing rental contracts everyone agreed too and signed, were no longer going to be honored by the local housing authorities.

The housing authorities are now demanding that the landlords must lower their rents to match the HUD reduced FMRs, or that the tenants must pay more for their share of rent, or that the contracts will not be honored at all and the tenant has to move, or lose their Section 8 voucher.

In Mc Phersons case, the MHA agreed to allow SCI REALTY to charge as much as $1,680.00 per month for Mc Pherson's 2 bdrm unit. This also affects Gary Armijo who is Mc Pherson's live-in caregiver, and he also faces homelessness now, as a result of these policies.

Things were fine for Mc Pherson and Armijo, until HUD double-crossed the MHA, and then the MHA turned around and double-crossed Mc Pherson and SCI REALTY by refusing to honor the existing rental contract and making demands that Mc Pherson and SCI REALTY found to be unreasonable.

According to HUD's latest figures for Fair Market Rents in Marin County, which goes into effect on March 1, 2006; HUD says the FMR for a 2 bdrm unit is being set at $1,536.00 per month. Thats $144.00 less per month than what was agreed upon in Mc Phersons existing contract with SCI REALTY.

Making matters worse for Mc Pherson and others, the Marin Housing Authority has declared their own FMRs or what they call "rent reasonableness standards", which greatly differs from HUD's own FMRs, or the tenants existing rental contracts.

HUD says the FMR for a 2 bdrm unit in Marin County is set at $1,536.00 as of March 1, the Marin Housing Authority says in a written statement that the FMR in Mc Pherson's area of Marin County has been reduced to $1,400.00 per month, and Mc Pherson's existing rental contract is set at $1,680.00 per month. Meanwhile, the HUD 2005 FMR is listed at $1,539 per month for a 2 bdrm unit in Marin County.

But, if you go to the Marin Housing Authority website, it shows a whole different set of figures for FMRs in Marin County. At the bottom of their web page known as Participant Services, it shows that the FMR for a 2 bdrm unit in Marin County is set at $1,605 per month.

Thats a grand total of 4 different FMRs for Marin County according to HUD/MHA, and more than enough to confuse anyone thats counting. With all these different FMRs floating around for Marin County, one can only wonder how accurate the calculations are when trying to figure out what each rental contract amounts too.

For those that may be confused. 1) The MHA's own website claims a 2 bdrm FMR goes for $1,605 per month in Marin County. 2) HUD's current 2005 FMR for a 2 bdrm unit in Marin County lists at $1,539 per month. 3) As of March 1, the HUD FMR in Marin County lists at $1,536 per month. 4) Regardless of the other FMR figures, the MHA claims that the FMR for a 2 bdrm unit in Mc Phersons neighborhood has been reduced to $1,400 per month.

In an effort to save Mc Phersons housing, a February 7 statement from SCI REALTY reveals that they are willing to lower Mc Phersons rent to $1,600 a month, which is five dollars less than what the Marin Housing Authority claims a 2 bdrm unit (FMR) is worth, according to their own website.

Thats not good enough, says the Marin Housing Authority in a December 9 statement to Mc Pherson, as the MHA demands that the rent in Mc Phersons residence must be reduced to $1,400 per month. What a mess!

The MHA did not respond to my calls or requests seeking an explanation for Mc Phersons dreadful housing situation.

Due to know fault of their own, Mc Pherson and thousands of others like her across the nation are being caught up into the bureaucratic nightmare that is double-crossing landlords and tenants alike because of HUD's insane policies.

The more reasons that HUD finds to reduce the FMRs across the nation, the harder it is for tenants to access the housing assistance programs, because fewer landlords will participate. The result is that Washington will spend far less to assist the poor in their housing needs, which has been their strategy all along.

According to a September 16, 2004 Press Release from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; "Under the proposed 2005 FMRs, more than three-fifths of counties (across the nation) face an FMR increase or decrease of 20 percent or more for at least one bedroom size. In some cases, the proposed changes in 2005 are quite extreme. In parts of the Boston metropolitan area, for example, the proposed 2005 FMRs for some bedroom sizes are less than half of the 2004 level." 

Many housing advocates across the nation have been organizing to oppose HUD's housing assistance cutbacks in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Montana, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin as well as other states.

[2006 HUD FMRs For San Francisco/Marin County]

Stu. $998 1 bdrm $1,227- 2 bdrm $1,536- 3 bdrm $2,051- 4 bdrm $2,167

FMR HISTORY FOR SAN FRANCISCO/MARIN COUNTY:

[HUD FMRs- Stu, 1 bdrm, 2 bdrm, 3 bdrm, 4 bdrm]

FY 2000   $832 $1,077 $1,362 $1,868 $1,976
FY 2001   $891 $1,154 $1,459 $2,001 $2,118
FY 2002   $1,067 $1,382 $1,747 $2,396 $2,536
FY 2003   $1,185 $1,535 $1,940 $2,661 $2,816
FY 2004   $1,084 $1,405 $1,775 $2,435 $2,577
FY 2005   $1,000 $1,229 $1,539 $2,055 $2,172

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com