Pubdate: Thu, 04 Apr 2002
Source: Herald, The (WA)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Alert: It Is Not OK To Evict Granny http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0237.html

POOR FAMILIES CAN GAIN WITH ANTI-DRUG POLICY

It would be easy to see an element of picking on the poor in the U.S. 
Supreme Court's recent ruling regarding government housing eviction 
policies where drugs are involved. But we think that would overlook the 
large population of low-income people who don't use drugs and deserve safe 
housing.

The decision upholds a federal law that allows people to be evicted from 
government housing if even one family member is using drugs. Horror stories 
of grandmas booted out of their homes because of the discovery of one 
grandchild's drug use on the street corner has prompted many to dismiss the 
federal law as unfair. Granted, some applications of the law may be extreme 
or misguided, but the law itself does more to protect the poor than harm them.

While it might not be as big an issue here in Snohomish County as, say, 
Chicago or New York, consider the people who are afraid to let their 
children play outside because a few other bad neighbors have taken over the 
complex. Being poor shouldn't mean a life sentence of living among 
druggies. Furthermore, a development taken over by a few bad apples can 
lead the community to wrongly believe everyone there is involved in drugs. 
That can be a tough, if not impossible, reputation to shake.

Bud Alkire, executive director of the Everett Housing Authority said he 
doesn't know how often his agency will really need to enforce the law, but 
it's an important tool to have.

"It needs to be used with discretion and compassion," Alkire said.

Tenant families must be responsible for the people living in their homes 
and for what goes on inside those walls. Family members can't close their 
eyes to what's going on, he said. In many situations the drug user 
dominates the household. Those are sad situations, but Alkire said his 
agency does encourage the tenants to make that person leave. If that 
doesn't work, officials will take further action.

Many critics call this the "one-strike" law because tenants can be evicted 
for one incident. Yet, this seemingly zero-tolerance policy still offers 
legal recourse for disgruntled tenants. Not only are evictions reviewed by 
the Housing Authority, but they are subject to a court review where the 
tenant can challenge the decision. How many apartment tenants in non-public 
housing are afforded such opportunities?

This law is about keeping neighborhoods safe. Imagine if the government 
didn't have any recourse for evicting tenants who allow drug users to live 
with them. It would be disastrous. Instead, the court's ruling gives public 
housing landlords some authority while still providing tenants with rights.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom