[Peace-discuss] Re: [cu_citizens] Questions about Section 8

[Laurie]

I personally think that Chris's questions are excellent ones that someone
should bring up and ask the Champaign City Council tonight at the Council
Meeting.  I do not think that the asking of these questions will change any
votes; but it will put the questions on the record and put the Council
Members on the spot.  As such they may actually discuss the questions and
the possibility of giving answers to them; and they may even be forced to
respond if merely to rationalize and justify their votes.

Long term, John is right; but unfortunately looking for long run solutions
to the affordable housing problem is like looking for long term solutions to
the health care problem, the quality education for all issue, and/or the
provision of adequate, livable wage, non-"dead-end" job opportunities for
minorities and the poor problem.  It is not going to happen in capitalist
corporate Amerika, expect in the form of a series of small privately funded
demonstration projects.  The people of Amerika, unless it is happening to
them, would rather spend the money on police chasing and arresting the
homeless poor from their camps and the city sidewalks, streets, and
properties so as to keep them out of sight than on subsidizing the building
of affordable housing or the making of rental properties affordable to those
who need it without stigmatizing them.  They would rather give money to
build prisons to house the arrested homeless than to build living quarters
for them. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net [mailto:peace-discuss-
> bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of John W.
> Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 2:17 PM
> To: Christopher Evans; cu citizens; Caroln Aaron; Brian Dolinar;
> Danielle Chynoweth; Peace-discuss
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Re: [cu_citizens] Questions about Section 8
> 
> At 11:10 AM 10/16/2007, Christopher Evans wrote:
> 
> >The key questions about Tonight's Section 8 vote:
> >
> >1) Where are Section 8 voucher holders supposed to live?
> >2) Will this proposal reduce available low-income housing in
> Champaign?
> >3) What educational steps has the City taken to educate landlords
> about
> >the Section 8 program?
> >4) Why do landlords need the right to refuse Section 8 voucher
> holders?
> >5) If the council votes to allow Section 8 discrimination, will the
> City
> >publish a directory of landlords who refuse to rent to Section 8
> voucher
> >holders to aid Section 8 families in their search for housing?
> >6) Does this ordinance tarnish the reputations of Section 8 holders
> and
> >thus make housing less available for Section 8 Voucher holders?
> 
> As one who has tried and failed to even get someone to TALK to me about
> GETTING ON THE LIST of qualified Section 8 recipients, it strikes me
> that
> our time might be better spent in exploring alternative ways of
> creating
> more affordable housing for the less affluent citizens of Champaign and
> Urbana.  I can (barely) imagine a society in which, instead of
> wrangling
> about niggling ways of legalizing ever greater discrimination, we all
> asked
> ourselves, "What can _I_ do, in partnership with others, to alleviate
> the
> shortage of affordable housing in my community?"  Habitat for Humanity
> is
> the right concept, but it's merely a drop in the ocean.
> 
> John Wason
> 
> 
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