Sheila Crowley Housing Quotations

People wait years for housing assistance. They should not be delayed because somebody else is getting their money.

As tragic as this result is, unfortunately, it is not a surprise. We have been afraid for several weeks that an increase in homelessness would be the outcome of the Bush transitional housing program. This is simply the logical consequence of a flawed program design and an inept program implementation.

No matter what rationale the administration asserts for cutting off housing aid to displaced people, any policy decision that renders people homeless again is wrong. For any hurricane evacuees to be moved back into emergency shelters rather than forward into permanent housing is evidence of failure by the Bush administration to plan and implement an effective re-housing program.

The consequences are most dire for those least able to compete. Once somebody with a family loses housing and is living in a shelter, their ability to regain a foothold is much harder.

If you don't have the resources, getting housing relocation assistance has proven to be problematic.

The disparity between what people earn and what even modest rental housing costs grows larger each year. This is the housing market in which millions of low-wage workers and elderly or disabled people must try to find safe and decent homes.