NYMetro

by Bob Shipman | 02.06.2009The following is a excerpt from article written concerning a trend in my city and may be reflected across the nation. We have started a listserv elist yahoo group to begin to build a structure communication tool for the parents of color to the way the leaders of this group tap into this list.please join in the discussion as needed...This time of the year, shaky tax preparers get rich. Many low income folks use the corner store tax company that pops up in December and breaks down the offices on April 15th. This is one of the many reasons being contented to a parents group is life changing. Everyone needs a network; it could be family, at work or in the hood. The more networks the better. The training and education programs come and go. Members of Parent Partner are planning to be around a while. We have 2100 members in 10 months. Everyday folks and professionals are on this list. I am glad that I can turn to so many people to assist with questions I have about housing, jobs, child care, health and so many other life issues. Please sign up and read the Parent Partner newsletter on a daily basis.Why (U) should Join Philly Parent PartnerThere are a large percentage of Parents working diligently to prepare them selves for new careers. The economy does not help at this time in our life span. However in the past week new issues have surfaced. First there is now stock of affordable housing, I mean none. Unless you are A1 with 700 and above credit score and a 35 - 40 k income as a single parent with 2-4 children it is nearly impossible. Most people find it hard to find and hold on to gainful employment with out supports. These supports can come from many places, family, in laws, community, employer co workers the list goes on and on.Thus the Philly Parent Partner was born, it has a simple mission.A group for Philadelphia parents who have found employment or are now seeking employment through a welfare-to-work program in Philadelphia and want additional information related to helping their kids in school and in the community. Welfare-to-work helps parents get jobs. The Philadelphia Parent Partner list helps parents support their children. Both are needed to insure success in the workplace and the community.Check out what was uncovered while acting as resource person. Firstparent was referred to me and was in tears. Rent was due on Monday,2/2/09, she was complaining about the amount of cash that she receivedfrom public assistance. She stated that the amount was $100 short ofwhat she expected. Which meant she would be short on the rent due?While doing a short intake on the family additional informationsurfaced. She had paid the first month and last month as securitydeposit. So the February payment would have been her first realpayment. The arrangement was all verbal, no lease or receipts.She was terrified that she would come home and her belongings would beoutside on the pavement. That is how this landlord works when tenantsdon't pay rent. There are four units in the building.I did a search and found out the building belongs to the city ofPhiladelphia not the landlord. Further research uncovered he livesnear and is behind on his taxes, the property he owns is in tax lienstatus. But the parent like many others are saving up enough cash tosecure a housing unit and pay what is due to get in and then realizesthat the work that the parent said she/he would do was more than theycould handle. Also the landlord had no intension of fixing the unit aswell. One suggestion was to start a escrow account and stop in to seeCommunity Legal Services, the TURN (formerly Tenant Action Group).The second case was a bit different. This parent was in tears as well,another referral and this parent was crying about living in a unitwhere the heater was un repairable. she pulled out a PECO bill for $650due to using electric heaters to cook and stay warm.Her monthly rent was way over her budget and had a hand writteneviction notice written on line paper. It stated that she owes $1200,it was itemize and had a date for payment in full or eviction. Thetears started to roll as we mapped out a plan. I checked to see was the eviction court date scheduled? It was not however the parents name came up and it had 4 instances where she had been sued and evicted by four different landlords since 2004. A pattern was clear; she stated she seems to have this happen to her, ohno not again. One bright spot was that the Pathways and friendsneighborhood guild co locates at the agency and they can get somerepair guidance and financial counseling.Once again over and over many parents are renting above their means tomeet the obligations, projecting that they will have a job and get ontheir feet in 30 - 60 days. The city of Philadelphia has a huge stock pile of student housing,shared space but not lease or rental properties available. This housing uncertainty has the child on the move and or do not attend school at all. There is a underground society present that the main stream community do not know exist. What is in the future? Stimulus money could help to expand the public housingunits? What...Why should parents join Philly Parent PartnerRe: Affordable housing in Philadelphia (NONE)As a Social Worker at CLS I see this crisis everyday too. I help our client’s complete subsidized housing applications when it becomes clear they can no longer afford rent and utilities and the only way they can make ends meet (or stay out of a shelter) is to have their rent pegged to 30% of their income. Market rate rents for our clients are usually well over 50% or even 75% of their income. Even if one can ride out the long waiting lists of Project-based Section 8 apartments, if a family has poor credit (most do because they have to live off of something) or even an old criminal record they will be rejected - this is from HUD-funded subsidized housing!! The other group of people I help with applications (including writing a recommendation letter and preparing the verification need for the often enormous application) are those who have lost/are losing their homes to foreclosure - they simply don't have the money to remain in their homes even if they refinance or make some other kind of deal with the mortgage company. Another group are those who must make major repairs to their homes to make them habitable. They often cannot wait a year or more on PHDC's BSRP waiting list and cannot afford repairs that often go into the tens of thousands.Clearly the problem is as you said: there is not enough SUBSIDIZED housing. Yes, there has been some "affordable" housing built over the last decade, but there is no subsidy to make rent affordable for people at or below 125% of the poverty line. Having said this more should be done to ensure that Project-based section 8 units relax their unreasonable application rejections based on credit, or at the very least take into consideration that many applicants have been victims of predatory loans, unscrupulous landlords, or have had a razor thin margin of error in margin their financial lives in general. To reject people out-of-hand for poor credit flies in the face of the spirit of what subsidized housing is all about - providing people with a decent place to live with dignity - an opportunity to live within one's income without fear of being out on the street. I would really appreciate speaking to others who would like to talk about / work on the issue of encouraging HUD to relax the rigorous credit checks that are standard practice at most Project-based Section 8 units. Thanks for your post, Bob.Social Worker/Community Education CoordinatorCommunity Legal Services - Law Center North Centralwww.clsphila.org////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Thank youEveryone needs a network; it could be family, at work or in the hood. The more networks the better. The training and education programs come and go. Members of Parent Partner are planning to be around a while. We have 2100 members in 10 months. Everyday folks and professionals are on this list. I am glad that I can turn to so many people to assist with questions I have about housing, jobs, child care, health and so many other life issues. Please sign up and read the Parent Partner newsletter on a daily basis.visit here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parentpartner/Subscribe: parentpartner-subscribe@yahoogroups.comWe could use additional assistance from the staff at the EARN centers, childcare agencies, schools places where parents frequent. It is available to send your special events to a large number of parents. Our goal is 5000 parents, we need your help, to get the word out to 100,000 parents in our city, bilingual parents needed.* Parent Networking
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