If ever we wanted a lesson in the politics of federal funding for poverty programs, the President and Congress just gave us a doozy.
It starts with the President’s budget proposing $1.6 billion in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) primary affordable housing program: Section 8.
Today, even cultures that contain strong safety nets for preventing homelessness are finding that more and more people are slipping through cracks in the structures of family, community, and faith that used to protect them and finding themselves on the streets. And when individuals from such a culture come to this country lacking even the benefit of language skills to help them navigate the perilous shoals of our more socially indifferent culture, they are likely to find themselves truly at sea.
According to HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Michael Liu, the Section 8 program is “broken beyond repair” as it “consumes” more than 50 percent of the HUD budget. Yet considering HUD’s very mission and the fact that Section 8 forms the largest source of federal assistance for low-income families, should we be surprised that it represents the lion’s share of the HUD budget?
We might ask Secretary Liu how the Administration would prefer to see the HUD budget divided? Perhaps the Administration aims to see a greater percentage devoted to homeownership activity? Perhaps there’s a desire to see federal housing assistance serve higher-income populations? Or perhaps a smaller Section 8 program furthers a goal of a smaller overall HUD budget? Curious.
Looking back at five years riding the Street Sheet editorial/production/coordination desk and setting it down on paper isn’t nearly as simple as it seemed when I agreed to do exactly that for this 15th Anniversary issue. I guess I have to confess an utter lack of objectivity when discussing work with which I feel such a deep, personal connection.
The Coalition on Homelessness proudly invites you to attend ArtAuction04 Celebrating 15 Years of the Street Sheet, Thursday, September 9th, 2004 at SomArts Gallery, 934 Brannan Street (between 8th & 9th Streets) San Francisco. Reception and registration begins at 6pm. Hors d’oevres, buffet dinner and silent auction 6-9pm. Live auction begins at 7:30pm. Sliding scale admission $10-$40.
As the oldest continuously published “street newspaper” in the world, for 15 years Street Sheet has featured art from homeless, as well as established local artists.
ArtAuction04 features an eclectic collection ranging from edgy political and “outsider” art, to more traditional works, including local printmaker and longtime contributor Art Hazelwood, who observed “The ability to produce artwork of social and political relevance and to have it published and distributed was a powerful incentive that moved me both as an artist and as a human being into a more engaged existence. The Street Sheet allowed me to expand both my art and my vision of the role of art in society.”
ArtAuction04 featured artist Alicia McCarthy echoes this feeling: “It’s important to participate in events like this because it’s one way for an artist to be a part of direct change, just trying to change some of the… social injustice in the world.”
Hoy día, hasta culturas que tienen fuertes redes de apoyo para prevenir la situación de desamparo se están encontrando con que más y más gente se deslizan entre las fisuras de las estructuras familiares, comunitarias o religiosas que solían protegerles y acaban encontrándose en las calles. Cuando personas de diferentes culturas vienen a este país sin tener siquiera las ventajas provenientes de conocer el idioma que les ayudaría a navegar las peligrosas aguas de nuestra cultura tan socialmente indiferente, la situación se hace todavía más difícil.
In the month of August, Jackie Henderson passed away. Jackie was a greatly loved staffperson at the Coalition on Homelessness, in the Family Rights and Dignity project. She most recently worked for Riley Center, outposted at the CalWORKS office where she tirelessly assisted women affected by domestic violence.
Jackie touched countless numbers of us in her community work to alleviate homelessness, poverty, domestic violence and mental illness among families.
