Miami

Miami is home to some of the richest zip codes in the country, such as Fisher Island, and some of the poorest like Liberty City and Wynwood.  While a few are living well, many in Miami are struggling.   According to the latest US Census figures, about 19 percent of the Miami-Dade population lives below the federal poverty level (which is $20,000 for a family of four) compared to 12.5 percent nationally.  Housing rights activists also report that the area has been deluged with high-end housing and condo developments few can afford. According to the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse, for instance, the average price for a single-family home in 2004 was $328,758.  All of these factors have contributed to the rising homelessness rate and crisis in public housing and Section 8 the city is currently experiencing.

Homelessness

In the shadows of gleaming million-dollar condos, some 5,000 homeless people, according to the official record, live in Miami.   However, the percentage of those paying more than 50% of their income towards rent is one of the highest in the nation.   This means that homelessness in Miami goes far beyond the individuals and families living under the bridges and in the parks – those who are officially counted.  There are literally thousands more who cannot afford a home and are forced to live doubled and tripled up in substandard conditions, often with family and friends. These aren’t counted in official figures.

Public Housing

Since the 1990’s, public housing in Miami was targeted for demolition under the misnamed H.O.P.E. VI program (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) and other local initiatives.  Through programs like H.O.P.E. VI, the number of public housing units has been reduced by 850 over the past 5 years.

One of the first to be targeted was Liberty Square Housing Development.  Fortunately residents and grassroots organizations, like Miami Workers Center, defeated the plan through local protests and demonstrations and trips to Washington, DC.  This victory saved 750 units of public housing in Miami.  Yet, other developments have not been as fortunate.

The Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency launched a project to demolish the Scott-Carver Homes in order to redevelop the area with more townhouses and single-family homes. While new housing was supposedly being built, the agency gave Scott-Carver residents the option of using vouchers to rent private-market dwellings or to move into other public housing.  Six years later, the Scott-Carver area is “a vacant wasteland” with construction rubble and boarded-up buildings filling the place that several generations used to call home.  As a result of the lax construction, hundreds of families have been left in limbo, doubling or tripling up in apartments or moving from housing project to housing project as they wait for the homes the county promised them would be built.

The agency itself has allegedly been engaged in questionable business practices, including diverting $5 million earmarked for affordable housing to finance a new office building. The Miami-Dade Housing Agency Development Corp., a nonprofit created by the county commission to develop affordable housing, has only managed to finish one out of 17 projects: a 100-unit apartment complex for seniors that finished months behind schedule, and which critics say was shoddily constructed.  It was also found that some developers were granted public lands and construction loans by the county to build homes for low-income residents but instead “flipped” the properties, selling them at a high price to investors or wealthy buyers.

Section 8

Miami-Dade County manages 12,000 Section 8 vouchers.  However, the waitlist (last opened in 2003) is 40,000 families long.  While the need for affordable housing is skyrocketing, the supply is shrinking.    As residents lose their homes through foreclosure and the staggering statewide unemployment rate continues to rise, it is no wonder the numbers on the Section 8 waitlist are swelling with the newly in need.  Getting on the list is as close many in need will get to subsidized housing.
Yet, Miami’s Section 8 program is mired in mismanagement, poor client services and inconsistent policies. It is impossible to get through to a live body on the customer service line; voucher holders risk being thrown out on the street while they wait for an appointment to get a signature on a change of dwelling document; others have lost vouchers because of minor technicalities; many landlords complain they do not receive timely rent subsidies from the local housing authority, while others benefit from the poorly run system by renting units that are in poor condition to voucher holders. The list of problems almost exceeds the waitlist itself.

To supposedly find a solution, Miami- Dade County is pushing to privatize Section 8. It seems to make sense, it seems responsible, and it even seems accountable even. Yet, with privatization we will see less public oversight of the program that is so needed by the public.

Miami Groups in the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights:

Miami Workers Center