Section 8 in your neighborhood?

[lenor_1]

Im just amazed at the intolerance Im reading on this board. Did any of you ever think about what would you do if you were a single mom with no place to go??? My sister is a good clean person who is trying to fix her life. Her boyfriend left her pregnant and we never saw him again she has been living with friends and cant afford her own place. But according to most of the people here you would rather her and her 3 year old son live on the street where she could be hurt if not violated. This is why society is going down the crap shoot what ever happened to helping your fellow man?????

[pattinyc510]

amen to that sister! people think if you're receiving any type of help you're at the bottom of the barrel. housing costs take more than 50% + of people's incomes. w/the price of fuel continually going up, everything is full circle. food prices go up & so on & so on. for people who turn their noses up to others they really need to take a good look in the mirror because in a heart beat your world can be turned upside down.

[Ultrarunner]

The problem with HUD Section 8 Vouchers is that it provides no help in the event of a "Heart Beat Away" disaster the previous poster referred to.

In my city, the norm for a family sized voucher is 4 to 5 years from eligibility to receipt.

[think.reciprocity]

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It's so very easy to judge the "others" in society whom we view from a safe distance, having no really earthly idea what their stories are, and preferring it that way because then our judgments/assessments of them don't need to be adapted.

Yes there are many who fit the stereotypes so many speak of - every modern society has "them" - I don't have all the answers but find it frightening that anyone would actually advocate abandoning them. I'm not a proponent of being a crutch for those who merely need a helping hand - I don't believe in that. But it's how we treat the least of us that we will be judged by ourselves. Karma can be tough.

I was a professional, divorced mother of one child when struck in two accidents in one year. I went from a very healthy salary to SSDI payments of $885 dollars per month. Barring a large change in my health issues, it is believed I will always need assistance from society. I have a great deal to contribute to the world around me. And, I do contribute in every way I am able to.

I was fortunate to have qualified for an emergency Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher last May - I had applied the previous July. I am an ideal tenant by most anyone's standards. I have owned my own home, payed taxes, lived the same life most of you have. I have strong values, morals, & ethics. I also receive housing assistance from Section 8.

There are many problems with the problem - there is no doubt about that. But, there are many good things too - we must be careful about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I just visited with a staff member of the Culver City Housing Authority in California & was ASTONISHED at the efficiency, helpfulness, customer service level, depth of knowledge of the system (and readiness to share the knowledge), etc. I was stunned actually. There are great examples of how the system is being administered. There are also great examples of folks who really need the assistance & have nowhere else to turn.

There are many elderly & disabled people receiving Section 8 assistance. The other thing to note is the reality that we rarely notice the many many folks who are quietly living their lives while utilizing Section 8. They just blend in with the rest of us. I believe "they" are the majority. We only notice the ones who scream out to us to be noticed by their ill behaviour. I don't believe "they" are the majority. Folks don't announce they are on Section 8 - especially the ones who just want to blend in & live their lives.

Any one of us could become one of "them" or the "others" given the "wrong" turn of events in our lives - I know that each of us would want helpful support available to us if we fell on hard times. The system certainly isn't perfect & I am all for it being improved - I merely believe we are all too often ready & willing to judge things through critical lenses without effectively evaluating the whole picture.

Now that's my 50 cents on the matter....


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[baubles123]

Im a teenager currently on section 8 and it is not what people think it is.My dad doesnt want to be on section 8, but we have no other choice. No one wants to be on section 8, most dont go on it willingly.Im homless and in a shelter, and our caseworker forced us to join section 8. They keep trying to send us to compton and downtown losangeles. I have a litle brother, so there is no way that my da was going to let us move there. If you had children would you want them to live there??no probably not.And my da went through highschool and graduated top of his class. But he couldnt afored to go to college or anything because he had to work so he could help his mom,because she could no longer work-she was dying of cancer.My point is not to get sympathy or anything like that at all, but no one can not judge someone because they are on any kind of program.

[N-Dawggy]

Listen, I think section 8 should be allowed to the disabled, handicapped but, if you are healthy then you should work, if you're not making it with one job then get two. If you can make it with two then relocate to a cheaper state. Sure there is the single mom that needs help to get back on her feet, that's fine. Seek public assistance, but for a couple of months, that should be enough time to get back on your feet. What we are seeing now is most people getting lazy or being content with living off of Section 8. And that post about the sister being pregnant and the man leaving, Come on now, she needs to know whom and whom not to spread her legs. Not only that, if she knew she couldn't afford a baby then why is she having one? I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Of course I would lke to pay $300 for rent, who wouldn't? But the reality is most responsible Americans would rather help the economy than bring it down.

[shamrock12]

there is nothing wrong with all section 8 tenants as long as they dont come in a neighborhood and destroy it,and having there little thug boyfriends hanging out,I had section 8 tenants living on both side of me and both refused to do their lawn,the grass was brown,one of the house had been vacant for a while so i had started to water the grass then someone moved in, the home have automatic sprinklers, the city finally came and was taking pictures of the house a couple of months later she was gone, the other neighbor just moved her boyfriend in and he comes in all times of the night driving her car with the music blasting, her kids come to my house begging for food, she works but he's at home all day hanging out with his freinds, are blasting the music, I want to report her for fraud but don't want her kids to be homeless, my daughter has section 8 but you would'nt know it she keeps the lawn up do minor repairs to the house, my advice to her was treat this as if it's your home, that you work hard to purchase!!!

[shamrock12]

we should not pass judgement on anyone,and we should never think that we're better than anyone, the way the enconomy is we might all find ourselves looking for a handout!

[notmeofficer]

Originally Posted by shamrock12

we should not pass judgement on anyone,and we should never think that we're better than anyone, the way the enconomy is we might all find ourselves looking for a handout!

Id rather bust bricks by the L.A Mission than receive a handout

No one is a victim, or feel justified in having a victim mentality, unless they allow themselves to be one

The money I work hard for should NOT go to someone else...I have never expected their money in my pocket

Workfare...ok... giveaways... not unless a person isnt able bodied... and only then if there is no (verified) family support

Life is about good choices... I dont want to pay for another person's bad ones