|
|
|
|
|
For
Whom is there Hope in Hope VI?
In recent months, there has been much discussion surrounding the planned demolition of the Metropolitan Gardens Public Housing Community in downtown Birmingham as a part of a federal government Hope VI grant which the Birmingham Public Housing Authority received in 1999. The plan calls for the destruction of the 910 low-income units and the construction of 1,029 units of new housing. Of these new units, however, only 340 units will be available for low-income or elderly residents. The rest of the units will be market-rate units. At issue is how the razing of the Metropolitan Gardens will affect its current residents, as well as the large numbers of other people in the city desperately searching for low-income housing. The HOPE VI plan will require all current residents of Metropolitan Gardens to move, and with a net loss of 490 units of available for very low-income households, concerns and questions have certainly arisen. Some residents would likely see their housing situation improve under the HOPE VI plan, but great uncertainty remains for many, many others. Birmingham already has a severe shortage of affordable housing, and there is a waiting list for public housing units. Where will the current residents find housing, and what happens for those on the waiting list for both public housing and Section 8 housing already? After an important meeting with Birmingham Housing Authority officials in May of 1999, residents of Metropolitan Gardens who identified the growing concerns for themselves and their neighbors formed an organization called the “Metropolitan Gardens People’s Movement” to assure that every resident will see an improvement in their housing situation and not be adversely impacted by HOPE VI, as currently written. The leaders of the organization contacted Greater Birmingham Ministries soon after to ask for help in making sure all residents are treated fairly. The leaders also asked Southern Poverty Law Center for legal assistance in protecting their rights and interests. A review of HOPE VI projects in other cities has confirmed the residents' concerns and indicated the resident input into such a project is critical, not just for themselves, but for a plan to have any real chance of success on any level. The GBM economic justice staff has been working with the residents of the Metropolitan Gardens Peoples Movement to have their voices heard by the larger Birmingham community. Doris Hemby, leader of the Metropolitan Gardens Peoples Movement and other residents have met with Housing Authority officials and have caused their consultants to publicly respond to their concerns in strategy meetings with residents, business leaders and service providers. The 910 units at Metropolitan Gardens are among the best public housing available in the city of Birmingham, perhaps the very best. The HOPE VI plan relies heavily on current residents either moving to other existing public housing units or moving into Section 8 housing. The Housing Authority hopes to have 320 Section 8 vouchers available. Section 8 housing, however, is already in short supply, and a voucher is in no way a guarantee of a house itself. The waiting list for Section 8 has been extremely long for several years, and many people with vouchers have not been able to find a unit to rent. Doris Hemby,
President of the Metropolitan Gardens People’s Movement, puts it best when she
states that, “it is simply not fair, to replace 910 low-income units with 263
or even 340 (the consultants’ best case scenario) low income units.”
The issue is simple mathematics.
Low-income residents must be allowed to remain downtown, near the
services, jobs and public transportation (what little there is).
Moving them to outlying areas, or putting them into other public housing
units which would have otherwise been available to more low-income residents is
not the solution. Residents have come up with their own strategies on HOPE VI and their proposal for how to revamp the plan so that there could be an improvement for everyone. The question is whether there is hope for everyone affected by HOPE VI. It’s a critical question for a program with “hope” in its name, and which is short for “Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere.” Does it include everyone in Metropolitan Gardens, as well as people in other low-income households in Birmingham or not? |
|
|
2304 12th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35234 (205) 326-6821 Fax: (205) 252-8458
|
