Bush Cuts DDD and Disability Housing
Bush cuts to DDD and Disability Low-Income Housing

From Skippy the Bush Kangaroo's blog this week. Details most of the public will never know about and it will not be "news".

"with little fanfare, the bush administration is proposing to stop financing the construction of new housing for the mentally ill and physically handicapped as part of a 50 percent cut in its housing budget for people with disabilities.

the proposal, which has been overshadowed by the administration's plans to shrink its community development programs, affects what is known as the section 811 program. since 1998, section 811 has helped nonprofit developers produce more than 11,000 units of housing for low-income people with disabilities, including more than 700 in new york state.

until now, section 811 has provided equal amounts each year, roughly, for financing for new construction, and rent subsidies for disabled tenants. but under the 2006 budget proposal, the capital allocation would be eliminated and the overall budget would shrink by half, to $120 million from $238 million.

...the federal government would discontinue financing housing for people with spinal cord injuries or psychiatric illnesses who are not necessarily homeless but may live in nursing homes or psychiatric hospitals.

by relying exclusively on vouchers, the federal government would essentially be lumping these people with able-bodied section 8 recipients in competing for some of the same apartments."

nytimes
- posted by BJ @ 10:49 AM |