The lawmaker says the low-income housing program will be expanded in the region. The Philadelphia Housing Authority disputes his information. Ý
State Rep. Chris Wogan believes the federal Section 8 housing program is ruining portions of Northeast Philadelphia.
Wogan's district, which includes Lawndale and Summerdale, has been particularly hard hit, in his opinion.
As an example, Wogan cites a troublesome Section 8 family on the 500 block of McKinley St.
Complaints by homeowners were not addressed by housing officials, he said.
Today, those folks have stopped complaining, for good reason.
"They've all moved away," Wogan said. "They couldn't take it any longer."
Last month, Wogan (R-176th dist.) said he was tipped off by a former Philadelphia Housing Authority official that the number of Section 8-subsidized housing units will be expanded.
According to paperwork Wogan received, he believes most of these new Section 8 tenants will be moving to the Northeast and Roxborough.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds the Regional Opportunity Counseling (ROC) program.
Locally, the program is administered by PHA. The program will transfer 80 families who have been in Section 8 for at least a year into new homes by 2001. In all future years, that number will increase to 115.
In addition, ROC will seek to recruit at least 50 new landlords per year.
WOGAN: NE IS TARGETED
Wogan, who lives in Bustleton, said his source indicated that the Northeast, the Roxborough/Manayunk area and a small portion of South Philadelphia will likely be the new homes for these folks.
That's because the relocation is to be into low-poverty neighborhoods -- those census tracts in which less than 20 percent of the population have incomes below the poverty level.
According to the 1990 census, a family of four earning $13,359 per year or less is considered to be living in poverty.
Housing officials choose to say that these Section 8 tenants will be moving into "economically diverse" areas.
"The Section 8 problem is worse than ever in Northeast Philadelphia," said Wogan, who is unopposed for re-election, "and this program will make it worse beyond anyone's comprehension."
PHA spokeswoman Robin Leary issued a three-page statement after reviewing a two-page news release issued by Wogan.
She called Wogan's release "inaccurate" and invited him to tour PHA properties to get a firsthand look at the Section 8 program.
Leary said ROC is not targeting the Northeast as an area where Section 8 participants should move. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing authorities from steering anyone to a particular neighborhood.
Participants, she said, can use their vouchers to live anywhere in the country.
MEASURES BY PHA
In general, Leary said PHA executive director Carl Greene has implemented the following effective measures:
Wogan, though, has yet to see any reforms that make Section 8 more acceptable. He noted that Mayor John Street made a lot of campaign promises about reforming Section 8.
Wogan, a vocal critic of former PHA head John White, is willing to give Greene a chance. But he will be patient for only so long.
"He's been in long enough. I'd like to see concrete action," Wogan said.
ROC, a national program that has been in existence since 1995, provides counseling to Section 8 residents that will help them adjust to their new surroundings.
In July, PHA executed a contract with Housing Counseling and Relocation Services (HCRS) to operate the counseling, referral and housing search components of ROC. Prior to that, the Salvation Army held the contract.
Counseling services include household management skills, budgeting, life skills management, employment, education and job training.
Richard Jordan, executive director of HCRS, said Wogan was a victim of "misinformation."
"I think he needs to do his homework," Jordan said.
Jordan said the program assists residents of Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties who wish to move elsewhere.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
HCRS officials, according to Jordan, will verbally ask participants where they want to live.
"It's not directed toward Roxborough or the Northeast," he said.
Jordan described ROC as a voluntary program. Overall, the program is designed to make participants self-sufficient and good neighbors.
Jordan said he can't understand why Wogan would be against a program intended to improve one's quality of life.
Besides, Jordan said, the number of participants is relatively minuscule.
"We have 1.6 million people, and he's worried about eighty?" Jordan asked.
Still, Wogan said the program will add to the instability in neighborhoods and further decrease property values.
Wogan believes the counseling -- which includes neighborhood tours to show participants the location of the nearest shopping center -- is unnecessary.
"Talk about a waste of money. Talk about absurdity," he said.
Wogan is calling for state oversight of PHA. He has a bill pending in the legislature that would put PHA under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
In Wogan's opinion, homeowners need to be able to have a say in ousting unruly Section 8 tenants.
Proponents of Section 8 and other housing policies believe that moving low-income people into middle-class neighborhoods will help them improve their standard of living.
Wogan said that policy has been a total failure.
"I haven't seen any neighborhood helped by Section 8," he said.