forwarded by Michael Hoover > Welcome to The Other Florida: The Florida of Economic Inequality and > Injustice; the Florida They Don't Want the Tourists to See > > ***************************************************************** > > Hopefuls endure wait; Hialeah defends system > > BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > For three days, 1,500 people ate, drank and slept in line for a chance to > get on Hialeah's waiting list for affordable housing. No more than 10 > vacancies exist. > > The scene outside Milander Auditorium, 4800 Palm Ave., resembled an > emergency shelter. People with dejected faces camped in sleeping bags, > huddled in blankets and rested in beach chairs. > > Among those in line: the elderly, a blind woman, workers who called in > sick, infants, even a woman with an oxygen tank. Some read the paper. > Others listened to Walkman headsets. Trash littered the pavement. Shoving > matches broke out. Police barricades guided the crowd in a snakelike > formation. > > Some complain that making the sick, the elderly and the poor camp out for > days to sign up is outdated. > > Hialeah officials defend the practice, calling it the fairest way to > distribute a limited resource. Hialeah Housing Authority operates a total > of 2,500 units -- about half of them set aside for this low-income program. > The massive turnout, they say, is a testament to Hialeah's reputation for a > model public housing program. > > ``I couldn't even see another way of doing it,'' said Councilman Julio > Ponce, former head of the Hialeah Housing Authority. ``That's the way the > federal government mandates. You have to have a waiting list.'' > > By 4 p.m., the window of opportunity had closed. Housing officials must now > review the applications to see who meets income criteria for the program. > To qualify, an individual can earn no more than $15,600 -- a family of six > is restricted to $25,850. Eligible participants will be called in for an > interview to determine their housing needs. > > Right now, no more than 10 three- and four-bedroom units are available. The > wait for highly coveted efficiencies and one-bedrooms could take years, > officials said. > > Those people who meet the income requirements and were standing near the > front of Thursday's line have the best chance at housing. > > The waiting began Monday afternoon for Maria Belen Guerra, 65, a retired > factory worker. She now pays $350 rent for a one-bedroom apartment in > Opa-locka. Guerra had hoped to move back to Hialeah but says she has been > priced out of the market because of her fixed income. > > ARDUOUS ORDEAL > > By Thursday morning, a weary-looking Guerra had submitted her application. > Getting her name on the waiting list meant enduring ``heat, lack of water > and bathrooms with an unbearable odor.'' But it was necessary, she said. > > ``It's been two years since they made a list,'' Guerra said. ``It's the > only way that poor people can do it. We have to sacrifice ourselves.'' > > Carmen Mendoza, 58, willingly spent two nights sleeping on the pavement for > the chance to rent an affordable one-bedroom apartment, but she questioned > whether the first-come, first-served approach is the best way to dole out > government assistance. > > `This is abusive,'' Mendoza said. ``There are ways to give people a ticket > and have them come back a certain day.''<P> > > She wasn't alone in her opinion. > > ``I don't agree with this, especially for the old people. They are sick, > and they need medication,'' said Margarita Fabelo, 57, who was shocked to > see a woman standing in line with an oxygen tank when she brought breakfast > to her 76-year-old sister who camped out overnight. > > LIKE THE CENSUS > > John Williams, 66, a civilian volunteer for Miami-Dade County Police, had > his own theory: ``They are going to get federal dollars. It's like the > census. ... It's supposed to show how many poor people are asking for > government assistance.'' > > Maria Roca, executive director for Hialeah Housing, said she hoped the > federal government would be swayed by the large turnout to approve more > public housing grants for the city. Although inconvenient, she defended the > process, noting that the rewards are great and the opportunity to get on > the housing authority's list comes around only every couple of years. > > ``Unfortunately, it's first come, first served,'' Roca said. ```We do > provide very nice housing -- decent, safe, sanitary and in good repair. > That's probably why they are all here.'' > > For police, the large crowds called for a round-the-clock presence. > > ``It took a lot, approximately 20 officers working 24 hours a day,'' Sgt. > Marcia Sanchez said. ``You have people trying to cut in the line. It always > happens. Usually the crowd polices itself.''