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For Immediate Release
September 9, 2007
For Information contact:
Bruce DarlingB 585-370-6690
Marsha Katz 406-544-9504
Gary Arnold 773-425-2536
ADAPT Housing Forum Exposes Individual Problems and HUD Inaction
Chicago---Officials from HUD traveled to Chicago from Washington, D.C. to
meet with 500 ADAPT activists, but incited the crowd to anger when they
communicated a tired message that hasn't been supported with action
promised in May by HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. Their appearance at the
National Housing Forum sponsored by ADAPT followed two hours of testimony
about the lack of affordable, accessible integrated housing articulated by
disability rights activists from across the nation.
"We just heard the same old rhetoric, lots of promises, but no action,"
said Cassie James, ADAPT Organizer from Philadelphia who moderated the
Housing Forum. "Last May, Sec. Jackson made a number of commitments to us,
and he hasn't honored one of them."
In a May meeting in Washington, D.C., ADAPT confronted Secretary Jackson
about the 58% loss in housing vouchers that the disability community
suffered due to a combination of federal budget cuts, and misappropriation
of the vouchers by local entities that administer the voucher program in
communities across the country. Jackson promised to report to ADAPT before
the September action in Chicago how many of those housing vouchers for
people with disabilities he has recovered.
Jackson, who had also promised in May to meet with ADAPT three times a
year, failed to show in Chicago, sending Kim Kendrick, Assistant Secretary
for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, andB Paula Blunt, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Public and Indian Housing in his place. Neither Kendrick nor
Blunt provided the numbers promised by their boss in May.
"The all-talk-and-no-action we heard today is the same thing we
experienced with HUD here in Chicago last May," said Darrell Price of
Chicago ADAPT, "We had a housing conference where Ms. Kendrick was also
present and heard Mike Grice talk about how long he'd been waiting for his
landlord to make his kitchen accessible. Ms. Kendrick talked to the
landlord, but it's four months later and the landlord hasn't done a thing.
Mike testified at the forum today that he still can't use his kitchen, and
once again the HUD folks said they'd look into it, but we aren't holding
out any hope on the follow through."
ADAPT is in Chicago all week to send a clear message to HUD, the Governor
of Illinois, the nation's medical community, and Congress that denying
affordable, accessible housing to people with disabilities and thus
supporting the incarceration of people in institutions for the "crime" of
disability will not be tolerated.
"And we won't listen to any more "we feel your pain" speeches from HUD and
other officials in suits." added James, while our brothers and sisters are
stuck in nursing homes and other institutions because there is no
affordable, accessible housing in their communities. We're done with
promises. We want action!"
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FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/
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