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Introductory Information
Many years ago, when my child was first kidnapped and I was stunned into dysfunctionality, I was able on public support to go find and rent my own apartment. Now, the pay is so low that there is NOTHING, not even a garage, that one can afford to rent on public assistance. Disabled and elderly people, many of us getting as low as $637 a month!, are forced into public housing. There are 9 million of us who need public housing. There are 6 million units available. Even a first grader can do that math... there are 3 million of us at any given time to have no place to live.
I was living in one of these Section 8 apartments. I didn't want to be there.. middle of the downtown of a big city, depressing as hell, and LOUD. Most of these buildings are privately owned, which most people don't realize, and there is NO oversight as to how they are run. From the beginning in this building, which was owned and operated by the next door Buddhist Temple, there was at least one manager who was just downright MEAN. And elderly Japanese man, he always had a mean word for anyone who crossed his path. It was clear, after being there for a while, that they definitely favored their own, which was understandable to me, but it certainly gave me first-hand experience in what it's like to be the minority, and treated as such. I tried to take the experience in that light. One of their favorite things, knowing that we were trapped with no options, was to tell us that if we didnt' like it there, we should move. That'll mess with your head over time. At one point, I got to know the Buddhist priest, and when I told him this is what was said to us, he got angry, and said, "This is America, and nobody should be told to leave!" For a while that particular ugliness stopped... the priest had obviously had words with the management.
Then that particular priest left, and so did the old manager, only to be replaced by another one who cared about us even less, and was only out for her own agrandizement. That was soon followed by an assistant manager who was not only as mean as the old guy, but lived in the building and went out of his way to speak horridly to every tenant he came across, at whatever time of day. It made life a living hell. There was no escape from the meanness.
One time this little hitler commenced to yelling at one of the tenants during a tenant meeting... he was very abusive, and went on a tirade. There was much uproar about this, and apparently even the shy little old Japanese ladies complained to the Buddhist Temple. The little hitler was told that he must go to therapy if he wanted to keep his job. Well, I knew that would take the problem off the table temporarily, and sure enough, within a matter of months, he was back at it, yelling at people in the office, in the lobby, outside in the garden, just wherever he chose to abuse us. Many people saw the futility, and those who could, moved from the building, which meant many long-term residents left. That still didn't affect the powers that be.
One day my neighbor down the hall, David, a very sweet and quiet person, who always had a smile and kind greeting for everyone, told me that he had been humiliated by little hitler one too many times. One day, he got on the elevator, and little hitler was the only other one in the elevator. He told me he got right in his face, started yelling at him, and told him that NEVER AGAIN would he tolerate his abuse. He told me he said to him, "I know where you live, and I will come get you, take you to the pent house and dangle you over the edge by your feet while you cry and beg for mercy. Then I'll just happen to let go, and laugh as you tumble down those 20 floors. Oh, and by the way, should you decide to tell someone.... I *never* said a word to you." I said, "David! You didn't really do that!" He said, "yup, I did, and he has avoided me ever since!" When an abuser can turn a quiet, sweet person like David into one who threatens violence, then the situation has become horrendous!
David was quite ill, and the last thing he needed was abuse. There were many elderly people in the building who were doing everything they could just to hold on and not be sent to a nursing home. They certainly didn't need abuse. There were many other ill people who couldn't spare the energy to deal with this crap --one woman I particularly remember had cancer, and just hid in her apartment to avoid him. What a life.
One day I saw this little hitler pushing and pulling an elderly chinese woman -- Because she couldn't speak English! -- and he just about had her down to the pavement. I yelled at him .. "Mike, STOP! We're human beings, not cattle!" Apparently I surprised him enough that he let up pressure just enough that she got away. Another few seconds, and he might very well have had her down, and who knows what bones might have been broken. She was shaking like a leaf, and I tried to reassure her, without Chinese, that I was going to stay with her, and that it wasn't her fault. There were other tenants around, but nobody spoke up.... that is the nature of abuse and power.
The family of this woman immediately moved her out of the building, and she was gone. I spent days making phone calls, trying to find an organization which would DO something, now that we had clear evidence of PHYSICAL abuse. To no avail.... each organization only referred me to another one, and another one, ad nauseum. I gave up. I couldn't believe that even physical abuse had no recourse, but that is the fact.
As you can imagine, he turned his wrath on me. No good deed, etc. All this time, since he was the one we had to go through to get our yearly Section 8 recertifications, we had been avoiding him. We went to the Resources Coordinator for the building, who would get the papers from little hitler, we would fill them out and get copies of the necessary documents and give them to her, and she would turn them into him, then she'd get the paper back for us to sign, and turn the signed paper back into him. After my clash with him, he would no longer accept this, as he couldn't stand that people could avoid him. He made up his own rule, which was NOT HUD rule, that we had to go through him. The Resource Coordinator would no longer stand up to him, and the manager of the building insisted we all obey his homemade rule.
I knew that I could NOT deal with him alone, so I went back to the phone, and after 3 days of constant calls, it was clear there was NO RECOURSE... either suffer the abuse or leave. I finally did what I didn't want to do, and went to the Victim's Assistance program, knowing it was inevitable that would mean the cops would be drawn in. This city, Denvoid, is known for abusive cops, and I had dealt with a few of them when my car was broken in, so this was the very last resort for me.
The Victim's advocate was the ONLY one who took an interest at all. She was appalled at the abuse. Of course, she wanted me to talk with a cop. This is the one little bit of humor... the officer who came in is named.... Snow White. I kid you not. Well, dear Snow showed no compassion, no sign at all that she had any empathy for what we were going through. She did, however, agree to go with me when I had to meet with little hitler for my recertification.
We agreed to meet in the lobby at 1pm, and the door to the office was still closed. When it opened and we went in, all the managers were in there, and the sound was palpable as their jaws hit the floor to see a cop in full uniform with gun and all accompanying me to see little hitler. I said nothing to him, and he was clearly shaken.
When the business was concluded and the cop and I left, we got out the door and she turned to me and said, "Well, how was it?" I just burst out laughing, and said that was the first time he had spoken in a tone that could be heard. She looked at me puzzled, and I said, "His favorite thing, especially with elders who have little hearing, is to talk very softly, so nobody can hear him. Then, when we say, "I didn't hear you", HE YELLS AT US.. What a dear. Anyway, I asked the cop to keep a file on him, and she was clearly not wanting to, but gave me her card, and said she'd see if she could open a file.
Thereafter, I made up little cards that I carried around with me that had both the phone number for the Victim Advocate and the cop (yes, many didn't believe there could actually be an officer named Snow White!). When someone would complain to me about little hitler, I'd say, Do you want to do something about it? If they said no, I just replied, Sorry, complaining won't help, and I can't listen to complaints anymore. I'd had enough of helplessness, and trying single-handedly to get action. If they said yes, if there was something to do, they would, I'd give them a card, and tell them to call those numbers and make a complaint where it could have an effect. I found out later that even one of the staff people called the cop to complain! I was told that the cop actually called the Resources Coordinator and basicallly said, "What the hell is going on there?!" Apparently the cop had had enough calls of complaint to make her realize it wasn't just me.
However, I was told that nothing could be done. That if the little hitler abused one group but not another, they could get him on descrimination. But since he was an equal opportunity abuser, we'd just have to live with it or move.
Now, lest you think this building was just one rotten apple in the barrel, let me assure you that is not the case. During this time I was working with an organization devoted to getting single-payer health care. I had come to know one of the doctors involved with this effort, and had told her what I was dealing with in this group. I had learned about a Section 8 tenants group, and set her up to speak about health care at their next meeting. She later told me that during their break, she listened to their conversations, and they were all asking each other where they lived, if there were vacancies, and how the management was. They ALL were upset with the abuse of the management in all the buildings, and trying to find something better! This made quite an impresssion on this doctor, and she was taking me much more seriously after that.
Another of my neighbors (David had died by this time.... which is why I feel like I can use his name...) got fed up with the abuse, and set up a tenants meeting with a lawyer from Legal Aid, a HUD representative, someone from the Housing Authority, and several other "officials". She asked me to take part, and I said I would if I could, but I knew by then there was nothing that could be done unless all the tenants got together and staged a HUGE rebellion. At this meeting, they were basically told what I had been told before... nothing could be done. She came to me afterwards and said, "You were right, and I can't fight it anymore." She left and moved into a nother building and told me later that the management was better, but it was horribly infested with bugs.
After the year with the cop, I had a Lutheran pastor who would accompany me for about 5 years as I had to apply for recertification. With his presence, little hitler wasn't so abusive. Then, he changed the date of the recertifications, and the pastor was out of town. I had been very ill, and was at the end of what I could deal with. I also knew that I was wearing out, and couldn't take any more abuse, or I'd become just as ugly as they were. So, I finally decided to just leave. Just pull out and leave all my stuff behind, and just take off.
First and foremost, EVERYONE should be receiving enough money to be able to rent a market rate apartment! By forcing us into public housing we are made a special and powerless group, at the mercy of those who would take advantage of us, and they KNOW we're powerless, and like to make sure we know that, too.
Second, EVERY public and private organization or government entity that serves poor and homeless people MUST include the voices and needs and wants of that group of people! This should go without saying, and it used to be a given. At the very least, there needs to be an ombudsman, seperate from the entity, where the people "served" can make reports on what they have dealt with, how they were treated, whether their needs were met, etc.
Both sHill and Abamination are going to run right out and draft legislation that would protect people like me from this kind of abuse, right? Riiiiggghhhhtttt......
With the shortage of public housing, who is going to take on the issue of rampant abuse in said housing?
We can give $$$ to Coalition for the Homeless, but they already know of this, and are doing.... what?
There are many Civil Rights organizations..... who among them is supporting people abused in public housing? None, that I could find...
Does Edwards' Institute on poverty have a section that addresses abuse and legal problems of those in public housing? What would it take to get him to include this and move on it?
How can we organize some massive interviews of people who are living in public housing, to find the measure of the problem?
I know this is long and involved, and a huge problem. But PLEASE take the time to read, digest what the reality is, and let's put our heads together. There is CONSIDERABLE brain wattage here with Edwardians, and I think we can come up with some ideas!
Thank you for all your considerable support!
:grouphug: :grouphug: :yourock: :grouphug: :grouphug:
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