------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> 4 DVDs Free +s&p Join Now http://us.click.yahoo.com/pt6YBB/NXiEAA/Ey.GAA/tOsolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: CPPH_Info-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are 2 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. Illegal eviction in DC From: Grant 2. Fwd: Research report on families leaving Chicago public housing From: Grant ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 07:31:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Grant Subject: Illegal eviction in DC --- aaron wrote: Put an End to Gentrification and Homelessness!!! Join us for a Rally and March Date: Friday, August 9th Time: 9am Place: City Hall on 14th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW Olive Branch Evicted from 1006 M Street NW At a little before 9:00 yesterday morning, August 7, four US Marshals and a few MPD officers came to the door of the Olive Branch with shotguns drawn. The Marshals presented an eviction order and forced the occupants of the building outside, asking to see identification and photographing the residents, including some who were rudely awakened and still in their pajamas. The Marshals searched the premises but refused to show a warrant, despite claiming to have one. While movers were bringing furniture and other items to the curb, the Marshals took away at least one box of assorted items, believed to contain computer disks, files, and political materials. Residents were allowed to go back inside to retreive belongings, but not until after the Marshals had gone through the house, dumping residents' personal papers into a heap. Residents have been told that if they re-enter the house, they will be charged with trespassing. Some of the residents' personal property is still inside the house, including personal papers and mementos. MPD remained at the property until the building was boarded up. The Olive Branch is a community space for the homeless and activists who organize resistance to homelessness and conduct activities to help the homeless. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 07:43:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Grant Subject: Fwd: Research report on families leaving Chicago public housing Mixed bag for families leaving CHA August 8, 2002 BY KATE N. GROSSMAN STAFF REPORTER Chicago Sun-Times Families who leave the projects for private apartments say they feel better and safer, according to a new study that breaks from past research showing families are landing in neighborhoods just as bad off as the ones they left behind. But the researchers also found a core group of families with so many problems they may not make it in private housing. This group's entrenched social and physical problems, along with an inadequate response by the Chicago Housing Administration, threaten the success of the agency's massive plan to transform public housing. Under the plan, the CHA hopes to relocate up to 6,000 families into apartments over 10 years. "These people are facing very serious barriers," said Susan J. Popkin, a senior researcher at The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, and lead author of a study that tracked 190 families--mostly from the Robert Taylor Homes--between 1999 and 2001. Only 38 percent of the families managed to leave public housing after two years. The sample reflects some of CHA's greatest challenges because it includes families who were unable to move out when residents were told to relocate in fall 1999. But among the 55 families that left during the study, Popkin found a brighter picture than previous research. A 1999 report on 1,000 relocated families by Paul Fischer of Lake Forest College found 80 percent were living in extremely poor areas. Popkin's families still tended to live in poor areas, but these neighborhoods were much better than the ones they left behind. The living conditions were also better on average and the families reported feeling safer and better about themselves. Popkin also noted improvements since 1999 on how CHA relocates families--including more help finding apartments, housekeeping training and connections to jobs. But she said questions remain about the quality and scope of those services. She is particularly concerned about families after they arrive in private housing and about families with intensive needs. For example, 50 percent of the people who didn't move out reported being depressed. Many also had significant health problems. Others had problems with late rent, credit or huge unpaid utility bills. CHA officials say they have developed new programs to help, though a recent Chicago Sun-Times report found that a main effort, the Service Connector program, isn't well-funded and isn't very helpful for people with deep-seated problems. Popkin worries some may never be ready, and she urges CHA to consider alternatives for them, such as supportive housing where families have direct access to social services or health care. In the meantime, the clock is ticking. The Stateway Garden building where Jacquelyn Askew, her 22-year-old autistic son Marko and her ailing mother live is closing Sept. 30. Askew has not found a place that meets her many needs. She knows Stateway's flaws, but it works for her as she cares for both Marko and her mother on her own. "Now everything has to change," said Askew, who gave up a factory job to stay home with Marko in their apartment. "We just keep praying it'll work out." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/