HUD fails to deliver the number
Lost vouchers could help get people out of costly nursing homes
ADAPT Action Report: Sunday, September 9, 2007.By Tim Wheat
Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development applauded the power of ADAPT in Washington DC this past spring and promised he would meet ADAPT in Chicago this fall with a number of vouchers HUD has recovered. Kim Kendricks and Paula Blunt successfully represented Mr. Jackson, but failed to live up to the promise to deliver recovered housing subsidies. Secretary Jackson had also committed to meet regularly with ADAPT and to eliminate the "outrageous" level of discrimination in housing against persons with disabilities.
"How could HUD come and not tell us how many vouchers the recovered?" asked Cassie James who introduced Secretary Jackson to the crowd this past May 1st. "They seem to be afraid to do anything. I think they agree that we are being discriminated against but they don't think HUD needs to do anything about it."
HUD had set aside a number of housing subsidy vouchers to help people move out of nursing homes into the community. However, budget cuts and local authorities lost thousands of vouchers so that nationally HUD does not know if they were used as intended. Secretary Jackson admitted that vouchers were lost and promised to recover some and report that number to ADAPT today.
ADAPT spent the day discussing housing issues. By noon, ADAPT heard from around the nation about filing complaints and accessible homes. In the afternoon, many people testified about lack of accessible housing and how it perpetuated institutionalisation. Kendricks attended and listened to over an hour of testimony by people who've faced housing discrimination and as a result, have lived in institutions.
"The all-talk-and-no-action we heard today is the same thing we experienced with HUD here in Chicago last May," said Darrell Price of Chicago ADAPT, "We had a housing conference where Ms. Kendrick was also present and heard Mike Grice talk about how long he'd been waiting for his landlord to make his kitchen accessible. Ms. Kendrick talked to the landlord, but it's four months later and the landlord hasn't done a thing. Mike testified at the forum today that he still can't use his kitchen, and once again the HUD folks said they'd look into it, but we aren't holding out any hope on the follow through."
Eleanor Smith of Atlanta testified that many people go into an institution because they have no access into their homes. She reported that sixty percent of people in nursing homes were discharged from a hospital and many of those discharged go to an institution because they have no access at home.
ADAPT is in Chicago all week to send a clear message to HUD, the Governor of Illinois, the nation's medical community, and Congress that denying affordable, accessible housing to people with disabilities and thus supporting the incarceration of people in institutions for the 'crime' of disability will not be tolerated.
"The testimony was great. It got right to the point that the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing has kept people in institutions," said Darrell Price of Chicago. "They don't hear our words, so they force us to speak with action."