> Public-housing tenants in S. Florida ordered to do volunteer
> work -- or get evicted
>
> By LISA J. HURIASH Sun-Sentinel
> Web-posted: 12:23 a.m. July 24, 2000
>
> South Florida residents living in public housing projects may have to
> find work or volunteer to keep from being evicted.
>
> Housing authorities throughout the region are scrambling to
> organize volunteer programs so residents can keep their
> government-subsidized homes.
>
> A new law will require all residents who are not working or mentally
> or physically disabled to perform eight hours of community service
> each month. The law will also exempt residents younger than age 18
> and older than 61 and those who already participate in welfare-reform
> programs.
>
> The law is part of a $94 billion spending bill passed in 1998.
>
> Although housing authorities nationwide have known about the
> Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act for some time, it wasn't
> until the spring when the regulations were finalized.
>
> "We knew we needed to do it. We had to wait to find out how to do
> it," said Kevin Cregan, executive director for the Broward County
> Housing Authority.
>
> The authority's first step is to notify residents by mail next month,
> said Joan Clay, director of the county's housing operations.
>
> But officials don't know what kinds of jobs residents will have to do.
>
> Dorothy Ellington, executive director of public housing in Delray
> Beach, said she likes the idea of the program but knows that many
> residents soon will be seething.
>
> "It encourages people to work, to do something," Ellington said.
> "We have a lot of people who have no income, and there has never
> been any real incentive for somebody to go to work."
>
> Some residents pay $50 a month, but with deductions for utilities,
> the rent can be as low as $9 a month if they don't have an income.
>
> "If you go to work, your rent is increased. So it's better to sit
> home," Ellington said.
>
> Some Republicans are eagerly waiting for the law to kick in.
>
> "I think work is certainly not demeaning," said U.S. Rep. E. Clay
> Shaw Jr., R-Fort Lauderdale. "Folks that are unemployed and aren't
> working, they've got 24 hours a day. Out of their life, eight hours is
> nothing."
>
> Fred Turner, the legislative director for U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings,
> D-Miramar, said Hastings thinks it's a mistake.
>
> "He completely opposes this provision," Turner said "His feeling was
> (that) a lot of people enjoy benefits from the federal government --
> they get a student loan, an income tax deduction if you own a house,
> corporate tax breaks if you relocate to a certain area, all sorts of
> things.
>
> "We don't require community service for these folks. If we're going
> to give government benefits and there's a string attached, (don't)
> single people out at the very bottom" of the socioeconomic ladder,
> Turner said.
>
> The tough part of the law is figuring out all the rules, said Judith
> Aigen, executive director for the Boca Raton Housing Authority. .
>
> Her ideas include sending people to mentor neighborhood children,
> riding the buses to ensure kids behave and working for local churches.
>
> Aigen said the Department of Housing and Urban Development
> recommends housing authorities hire people to supervise the
> program. However, HUD doesn't provide the money
>
> "I'm forcing them (to volunteer), and I'm having to police their
> lives," she said. "I do housing, and HUD is making us social workers."
>
> Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash at sun-sentinel.com or
> 954-356-4557.