> Welcome to The Other Florida: The Florida of Economic Inequality and
> Injustice; the Florida They Don't Want the Tourists to See
>
> *****************************************************************
>
> Hopefuls endure wait; Hialeah defends system
>
> BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA
> smarquez at herald.com
>
> For three days, 1,500 people ate, drank and slept in line for a chance to
> get on Hialeah's waiting list for affordable housing. No more than 10
> vacancies exist.
>
> The scene outside Milander Auditorium, 4800 Palm Ave., resembled an
> emergency shelter. People with dejected faces camped in sleeping bags,
> huddled in blankets and rested in beach chairs.
>
> Among those in line: the elderly, a blind woman, workers who called in
> sick, infants, even a woman with an oxygen tank. Some read the paper.
> Others listened to Walkman headsets. Trash littered the pavement. Shoving
> matches broke out. Police barricades guided the crowd in a snakelike
> formation.
>
> Some complain that making the sick, the elderly and the poor camp out for
> days to sign up is outdated.
>
> Hialeah officials defend the practice, calling it the fairest way to
> distribute a limited resource. Hialeah Housing Authority operates a total
> of 2,500 units -- about half of them set aside for this low-income program.
> The massive turnout, they say, is a testament to Hialeah's reputation for a
> model public housing program.
>
> ``I couldn't even see another way of doing it,'' said Councilman Julio
> Ponce, former head of the Hialeah Housing Authority. ``That's the way the
> federal government mandates. You have to have a waiting list.''
>
> By 4 p.m., the window of opportunity had closed. Housing officials must now
> review the applications to see who meets income criteria for the program.
> To qualify, an individual can earn no more than $15,600 -- a family of six
> is restricted to $25,850. Eligible participants will be called in for an
> interview to determine their housing needs.
>
> Right now, no more than 10 three- and four-bedroom units are available. The
> wait for highly coveted efficiencies and one-bedrooms could take years,
> officials said.
>
> Those people who meet the income requirements and were standing near the
> front of Thursday's line have the best chance at housing.
>
> The waiting began Monday afternoon for Maria Belen Guerra, 65, a retired
> factory worker. She now pays $350 rent for a one-bedroom apartment in
> Opa-locka. Guerra had hoped to move back to Hialeah but says she has been
> priced out of the market because of her fixed income.
>
> ARDUOUS ORDEAL
>
> By Thursday morning, a weary-looking Guerra had submitted her application.
> Getting her name on the waiting list meant enduring ``heat, lack of water
> and bathrooms with an unbearable odor.'' But it was necessary, she said.
>
> ``It's been two years since they made a list,'' Guerra said. ``It's the
> only way that poor people can do it. We have to sacrifice ourselves.''
>
> Carmen Mendoza, 58, willingly spent two nights sleeping on the pavement for
> the chance to rent an affordable one-bedroom apartment, but she questioned
> whether the first-come, first-served approach is the best way to dole out
> government assistance.
>
> `This is abusive,'' Mendoza said. ``There are ways to give people a ticket
> and have them come back a certain day.''<P>
>
> She wasn't alone in her opinion.
>
> ``I don't agree with this, especially for the old people. They are sick,
> and they need medication,'' said Margarita Fabelo, 57, who was shocked to
> see a woman standing in line with an oxygen tank when she brought breakfast
> to her 76-year-old sister who camped out overnight.
>
> LIKE THE CENSUS
>
> John Williams, 66, a civilian volunteer for Miami-Dade County Police, had
> his own theory: ``They are going to get federal dollars. It's like the
> census. ... It's supposed to show how many poor people are asking for
> government assistance.''
>
> Maria Roca, executive director for Hialeah Housing, said she hoped the
> federal government would be swayed by the large turnout to approve more
> public housing grants for the city. Although inconvenient, she defended the
> process, noting that the rewards are great and the opportunity to get on
> the housing authority's list comes around only every couple of years.
>
> ``Unfortunately, it's first come, first served,'' Roca said. ```We do
> provide very nice housing -- decent, safe, sanitary and in good repair.
> That's probably why they are all here.''
>
> For police, the large crowds called for a round-the-clock presence.
>
> ``It took a lot, approximately 20 officers working 24 hours a day,'' Sgt.
> Marcia Sanchez said. ``You have people trying to cut in the line. It always
> happens. Usually the crowd polices itself.''