TheGardenIsland.com News Kauai News Residents grapple with affordable housing ‘realities’

TheGardenIsland.com News Kauai News Residents grapple with affordable housing ‘realities’

Immediatly I fired off a letter to the Garden Island

"When Coco called me up and asked my opinion on this issue, I pretty much burned her a new hole in her ear. There are a few things I want to clarify however. It seems that the article was perhaps unintentionally slanted in the direction of my saying that Habitat and Kalepa were unaffordable.

The problem lies in not knowing the difference between "affordable" housing, and Low income housing. Habitiat for Humanity is a terrific organization. When Coco and I were discussing this issue, I specifically mentioned them as doing a great job, and that we needed a whole lot more of what they were doing on this island as part of the solution to this problem.

When Coco asked me what I thought a solution would be to this housing situation, I was very blunt. Large developers that want to build high end housing for the wealthy must build addordable and low income units for employees, or employee housing that would be affordable based on what they will be paying those future employees.

I mentioned that the first people to do this was Princeville Corporation but they were required to do it as a condition of approval of their project. Many of the larger developments have also been required to do this as of late, but as I testified many times at the meetings they were still looking at "affordable" units being at the 50, and 80 percent median income range which did nothing to address the problem.

I did praise one developer. and that would be the Ritz Carlton Kauai, whose development would be building not only affordable units, and employee housing, but also some low income units as well, and accepting HUD. I have praised them many times for the way they have tackled the housing units and held them up as an example for others.

Kalepa is a county project that is a HUD project. So those rentals will be doable, and Habitat is a charitable organization that helps to make housing truly affordable for many families that could otherwise not afford a home by using sweat equity.

Mahalo for letting me add onto my comments on the article
Anne Punohu
Kauai Fair Housing Law Coalition"

So, now lets get down to the real nitty gritty. I mentioned to Coco everything I did here, and a whole lot more. What I did not get a chance to tell her, was that a way that some people were addressing their own homeless issue, was to work overnight jobs and try to sleep during the day. They can park their cars at work and its a win win for everyone. However, with strict new laws against sleeping in their cars or even on the beach and possibly getting a ticket for it, this sort of complicates matters. Without any sleep, how can you do your job? Overnight jobs are extremely physical, since most involve heavy cleaning, or stocking shelves with heavy items or ioperating machinery, or performing guard duties which requires a lot of walking for a n entire shift.

I also told her that most of the people I met while I was working overnight jobs were on their second 8 hour job and had just come of a full day shift. These poeple some of them worked 5 and 6 days a week at full hours with overtime. It still did not put a dent in their finances much.

I also discussed the catch 22 of some social programs which can make it hard to save enough money for housing, and the possibility that in the future legislation may be written to put a time limit on how long poeple can ,live in low income units in State projects.

Here is the math. You are say a single mom, 2 kids. You have a job that pays minimum wage, and you work 8 hours, five days a weel. Your rent is set at 30 percent of your income, and you qualify for some foodstamps, medical and insurance for your car, childcare, ect. You don't have any money left however, and it is very hard to pay bills like gas, phone, electric, and extras like a phone, cable or internet. There is very little left over for essential items, clothing for the kids, even toilet paper. SO, you try to better yourself. You get a job that starts at a higher rate of pay, and in three months to six months you are now earning 12.00 to 13.00 an hour. You lose your foodstamps, insurance, and childcare. You must now pay a higher rate for childcare out of pocket, cover your insurance expenses and pay for your food with cash. Another issue is that now, your rent will now increase incrementally due to your having a higher rate of pay. SO, what you have gained by almost doubling your pay, will be eaten away by an increase in rent, gas, insurance and food costs. SO technically you are no better off than if you had one job and stayed on benefits. So, as you can see there is very little opportunity to save the thousands of dollars that would be needed for a downpayment on a house, even a "affordable" one.

However, the rumour mills are flying that an attempt to put a stopper on the amount of years someone can live in State Housing are more than likely going to come up for a debate at some point in the next year or so. If that is so, it will be a debated issue during campaigns I am sure. Most people see low income housing dwellers as lazy, and poeple that don't work, and are just "free loadning" in public housing for decades and not moving out and moving on so that others can get into the units.

hHis is ridiculous. The obvious reason why people cannot get ahead, is the rules and regulations of the system, and the fact that no one is building affordable low income housing that matches the pay scale here, and the rentals are far too high. Not only that, when we fought to change regulations last year at the State level, and make discrimination against a renter illegal just because a renter would be paying for his rental with a HUD voucher , it did not pass. that makes it even harder for poeple to move out of State low income housing.

The answer is to either build more state housing, and complete repairs, or rebuild aging state housing, and pass laws that will forbid discrimination agianst HUD voucher holder,s and build low income pay scale amenable affordable rentals and housing.

This can be accomplished by loosening the restrictions for developers whose purpose is to do just that. Developers that are willing to build the kind of housing that will keep workers on island should be given every type of ecxemption allowable. Those that wont should not be allowed to build. It is as simple as that. Housing discrimination based on HUD should not be allowed. And for a term of 5 years, a families maximum amount of rent paid in a state housing unit should be frozen, allowing any amount to be earned. A portion of money and earning are to be set aside each month for that family in a dedicated account, and at the end of five years, can be used towards the purchase of a home outright, and will be held by the State for the renter. After five years, the rent can be increased incrementally and work with the renter to help overcome any obstacles to finding a decent rental or home. Welfare laws should be reformed to allow 2 years of payments to continue, frozen while a family gets back on its feet agfter acheiving a raise and a better job and still be allowed foodstamps, since that is the single most expensive burden,

THere are ways to tackle this problem, but it will require will, determination and drive to get these problems solved.

Feel free top debate the issue here. You know the rules

Welfare Reform, Economics

Here is a great article about yesterdays food giveaway.  They have helped out my family through a few Thanksgivings, the food is fantastic and top notch, and we are very grateful!

Here is the link to the article:CLICK HERE

 Welfare Reform needs to be reformed. Here are some rules:

If You manage to find a full time job that pays 12 or 13 dollars, you are a single mom with 2 children(the average) these are your "rewards"

1. If your child(teen) does not attend school fulltime, or a combination of work and school, the ENTIRE family gets cut off from assistance. (No, I'm not kidding)

2. If you are a single parent with 2 children and find a fulltime job that pays you between 12 and 13 dollars an hour, you LOSE your public assistance, including foodstamps. (Remember, this is Hawai'i. Food prices are off the charts. At least 1/3 of your income will now be going to groceries. Any gains you could have made or money you could have saved will be going to food.

3. If you are also lucky enough to have a HUD or Housing unit, your rent will increase 30 percent of your GROSS new earnings. (I.e. your rent will increase)

4. You will not be eligable for gas allowances, or insurance coverage.

5. If you happen to become pregnant during any time during your receiving welfare assistance, that child will not receive benefits. (Pro-Lifers should LOVE this, huh? It practically encourages abortion, supports a father having no responsibility for the child, since the child will not be covered, and encourages giving up the child. If abortion was no longer an option here, this would almost certainly cause the breakups of families, mental health issues and unfair adoptions.)

There is a five year LIFETIME allowance for welfare benefits. This causes severe economic hardships for mothers with 2, 3 and 4 children many of whom have been abandoned by the fathers.  In the past, you could always get help up until the child was 18, and you were not required to find a job or work until all of the children were of school age. Now, the law requires you to go to work or school by the time the child is 6 months old. With single parents this is very difficult, as separate childcare must be found, and not all childcare covers all of the costs of childcare. So once again, the system puts an undue burden on the mother.

6. Child support: The state of Hawaii is NOTORIOUS for NOT going after fathers for child support. CHild support issues in Hawaii are extremely complex as many single mothers are fleeing abusive spouses and marriages and partners with small children.  Under these circumstances welfare allows an exemption to go after the fathers in order to protect the family.

However, most fathers here, supported by bosses and family members are hidden and protected, while threatening the mother if they go after them they may fall into physical harm. Temporary Restraining orders and court proceedings further complicate the life and stress of mothers, who are also trying to comply with other agencies in order to keep a roof over their heads. Many end up homeless due to the loss of jobs because of absenteeism or stress and poor work performance.

All mothers are forced to reveal who the fathers of their children are, except when there is physical abuse threatened which must be proven. Many women have been threatened, so many women have this excemption, which the  fathers know will keep them out of trouble.  Many single mothers on welfare never get releif from the fathers of their children in Hawaii, becvause the physical abuse and threats are so prevelent.

Even when childcare has been ordered, many fathers in Hawaii get away with the minimum payment of 50.00 a month, which the mother never receives. It goes to welfare to pay back the system for the benefits she and her children have received.

After the welfare benefits have run out, a mother is still entittled to help from the state for a time to recover her money, and if there are any payments, sometimes they pass through to the mother. But most get out of paying this by working under the table, living with family members who do not reveal any information, or have sympathetic bosses who hide their true hourly wages and hours.

There is no way to track a father who is working under the table and hiding with relatives. Many will do it until the child is 18, and then resurface knowing that they have beaten the system and are now out of the woods. Most will drive illegally, or not have car insurance or bank accounts, or bills in their names. Many are supported in this by family members who do not care for the mother, and have no interest in the children, or who side with the man in these cases.

7. In general this is a paternalistic solution, asserting that basicly the mother is entirely to blame for her circumstances and it is she who must abide by dozens of rules and regulations from various agencies, with volumes of paperwork, appointments to keep, jobs to hold down, housing to secure and keep, ect. If one thing is not done correctly or something changes the whole house of cards can fall, and a single mother can lose everything, or worse end up homeless on the street, which happens a lot.

In conclusion, we all need to understand in this country that the rights of a mother just don't exist anymore. That undue stresses and burdens are put on women who have had the misfortune to have given birth to children that are unwanted by the fathers that were at least half responsible for them being here. With the Pro Lifers talking about how important it is to support the rights onf an unborn child, they seem to miss the fact that without a mother a child born into these circumstances will have at best a miserable existance, and doom them to poverty and unhappiness.It may force mothers to give up children, or lose them through the system. Then how does that bode for her other chilrdren? How can any human being survive this? Why are women being so archaiclly punished. Most women who now become pregnant during their 5 years on welfare, through unscroupulous men who offer partnerships or even marriage only to abandon them desperately now seek abortions to prevent giving birth to a child they are doomed to not be able to support. Is this what is meant by "right to life"?

So, this holiday season, perhaps read this blog article and think hard about the entire picture before judging, and understand that this is really what is causing the hardships on Kaua'i. Throw in the lack of affordable housing, plans to place limits on the number of years someone can live in public housing, the lack of jobs and it becomes even more dire.

So this holiday season, lets all reflect on being non judgemental about someone elses situation in life, and realizse that we are all in some way responsible for each other. It takes a village to raise a child, AND support the mothers as well. Let's reflect on that for a change.

If anyone is wondering why people are needing more help, these are some of the biggest reasons for the working poor.