Where's HOPE?

During the past 15 years, the city of Memphis has undergone some significant changes in its public housing. In 1993, HOPE VI was created as a way the federal government could address those housing units that were severely distressed. The main objective was to make physical improvements to the sub-standard buildings, restructure the existing management and address the social and community needs of residents. At some sites, a complete demolition was deemed necessary to reinvent the neighborhood. The consensus has been that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uprooted entire communities by relocating residents during the demolition. Residents were given the option to receive Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) or move to Section 8 Project-Based facilities. Most of the project-based sites were not within the same neighborhood of the HOPE VI developments. Many of the neighbors and some families were forced to move to separate sites.

There have been various challenges to HOPE VI. The overall gentrification of low income housing caused disruptions on several levels and within different neighborhoods. All of the residents have the option to make application to return to the new and improved sites. Many of the residents either do not qualify for HOPE or the reduced numbers of low income units are unavailable. This is true to all HOPE VI developments throughout the country. The numbers of available units dwindle to less than 10 percent at some sites. Some previous public housing residents do not meet the qualifications to re-enter the community. Those residents who do not qualify for the new HOPE VI units are forced to find housing where it is affordable. Many of those affordable units are in the same condition. HUD discoverd that there were numerous residents that were unqualified. The federal government was inclined to provide more Housing Choice Vouchers and make more funding available for low income housing.

Site-based Section 8 and rent subsidized housing was created to give families flexibility to choose their neighborhoods. They were also created to provide a steady stream of funding to those developers who were building units for low and very-low rents. Some residents without choices found themselves in what seemed again like “the projects”; concentrated pockets of poverty where many of the rental units are dilapidated, over-crowded and drug infested. It seems as though had the city’s public housing authority and the federal government (HUD) provided those residents with strict guidelines like Section 8 requires and the social needs simultaneously, neither would have to readdress the same issue of neglect. Though residents of the old public housing sites were economically challenged at the time of their exodus, the social and community needs component of the HOPE VI program proved not to be effective. Had HUD or the city government provided jobs to those who were employable and job training to those who were not, maybe there would not be as many as 14 different site-based units within the city of Memphis.

I believed that HOPE VI would provide safe, clean and affordable housing at the sites where residents were removed. I thought that HOPE VI was supposed to give those residents “hope” that a better environment was available. I guess that’s all impoverished people get…..HOPE.