Habitat area turning hostile, family says

The Indianapolis Star ^ | December 27, 2003 | Timothy Evans

[Libertina]

Guy Camara said that didn't happen: "Habitat basically walked away after the houses were built."
They built you a home, and now they are responsible for sticking around and making sure you take care of the place? Sheeesh. The reason many low income places look bad is because the people act low class. Poorness is NOT AN EXCUSE FOR GARBAGE, DIRT, AND CRIME.

[jocon307]

"I just don't understand what more this guy expected Habitat to for him or his community."

Balto,I agree, when he said "Habitat basically walked away after the houses were built." I said, well why not? That's what they do, build houses for people, they don't volunteer to run their entire lives.

Sounds like Habitat for Humanity may need to be a little more (dare I say it?) DISCRIMINATING, in its clients.

[sarasmom]

I dont understand why they would build an entire neighborhood of HfH homes.
Isnt that just a private charity upscaling the projects?
IMHO, Section 8 or public assistance with "normal" rentals scattered throughout a community is a better way to help people who need short term assistance.
If we are going to provide it, lets do it the right way!
I had no idea HfH built entire neighborhoods of this type!
How could they possibly not know it was not a good idea?
After all, they were "saving" people from public housing and poverty/crime group think tanks.

[CaptainK]

Guy Camara's career of being "an independent video and film producer" raises any eyebrow too

A Michael Moore wannabe.

[balrog666]

"Habitat basically walked away after the houses were built."

WTF??? Every seller walks away after selling. What did these "people" want, HFH to hold their hands and solve every problem in their life? What a bunch of morons!

[YoungKentuckyConservative]

I was noticing the "positive" comments I cued in on were made by employees of Habitat For Humanity. The "negative" comments were from actual residents. Now who do you think we should really be listening to?

[freedumb2003]

This is not a problem caused by Habitat, it is whitey's fault, no question!

Close -- it's Bush's fault. Just like the Bills today.

[packrat35]

This was sad sack front page news for several days in early December ere in Memphis. The problem is the idiots who get these houses.

Many of them refinance their $150 a month payments for 20 years at 0% interest so they can get $10,000 in cash and then are stuck with $650 a month payments for 30 years at 14%.

I don't fault Habitat for Humanity at all. But the slant on the stories make it seem like its all Habitats fault.

[ODDITHER]

This reminds me of the old FHA 245 program that was a miserable failure. If you never had owned a home, and if you were low income, you could qualify for an FHA 245 mortgage. Whole subdivisions were built to sell to FHA 245 qualified people.

Trouble was, they built them so cheap so that the low income people could afford them that they didn't last very well. The owners could barely afford the mortgage and had no money left over to keep up the homes. Within 5 years you had whole subdivisions that owners couldn't sell the homes because the neighborhood had become so rundown or inhabited by undesirables. Home after home were abandoned as people couldn't sell them and just let them go back to the bank.

Instead of building poor people homes, they should send them to school so they can afford a home. Another feel good liberal idea that just doesn't work in reality.

[packrat35]

I believe one word explains the bankruptcy rate here in Memphis area-CASINOS.

I don't fault the casinos but the overall intelligence level her is not very high.

[MediaMole]

Bad people make bad neighborhoods.

Habitat is great when they help hard working people build a new home, but too often they just give people a new house in the slums to destroy.

[CurlyDave]

Section 8 or public assistance with "normal" rentals scattered throughout a community is a better way to help people who need short term assistance.

I am a landlord, with a few single family homes scattered in a lower middle class city.

I do not own slums, I do not rent slums. I do not rent to section 8. Period.

Most people on section 8 assistance come from slums & they bring the slum with them.

If HfH wants to build a few houses at widely separated locations there is a chance for success, because the houses will be worth more than what is owed on them. There is chance the giftees will be able to pick up enough values from their neighborhood to maintain their homes and actually get ahead.

If HfH wants to concentrate a large number of slum dwellers in a small area, all they will do is move a slum in.

The big HfH problem is that they highly subsidize the homes, and then don't put any safeguards in place. The strict rule should be no refinancing and no second mortgages for the life of the original loan. If someone wants to move out, HfH should buy the house back from them for the amount of the outstanding loan. They "lose" the "equity" they have built up. but they still come out ahead because their payment was less than rent for the time they were in the house. And, the house was a lot nicer than wherever they were renting.

[packrat35]

Very good points. I especially agree that the full title should not go to the new residents until paid for. Too many are idiots financially.

[yankeedame]

The reason many low income places look bad is because the people act low class...
Correction: The people don't act low class. They are low class.

Poorness is NOT AN EXCUSE FOR GARBAGE, DIRT, AND CRIME.
Amen! Many moons ago, taking a short cut, I drove past the outskirts of "that" part of town.
To my preteen daughter I mumbled "This is a disgrace. Look at those houses.They're dumps."

"But mom," replied my daughter. "They're poor."

I snapped back: "So how expensive is soap? How much does a broom cost? And how much does it cost to fix a screen window or pick up garbage out of the front yard? And look...cars in the drive way, but they can't afford a bucket and a mop?"

Like I said before, these people -- whatever their skin color-- don't act low class. They are low class.

[ReagansShinyHair]

So how expensive is soap? How much does a broom cost? And how much does it cost to fix a screen window or pick up garbage out of the front yard? And look...cars in the drive way, but they can't afford a bucket and a mop?"

I used to teach in a really poor part of Los Angeles. The kids wore uniforms if they wanted to. Problem was, some of the parents took that to mean that they could just slap the SAME shirt and pants on the kid each day, without washing them. First graders get pretty grubby after one day, let alone one or two weeks. Fingernails were filthy and teeth and hair were not brushed. The children stank. I loved them and taught them anyway, but I wanted to hold my nose sometimes.

One of my fellow teachers was once lamenting that the childrens' parents were so poor that they couldn't afford the laundromat. They could afford cigarettes and beer and send their kids to school with Twinkies (my mom said they were too expensive), but no laundromat? They couldn't afford a sponge to at least wipe the grime from their child's face? They were just scummy, lazy and dirty and have very low standards of hygiene, both for themselves and their environment. I still felt really sorry for the kids, because at six there's not much you can do, but I don't feel sorry for these adults at all.

Even animals don't soil their own nest.

[ccmay]

"Habitat basically walked away after the houses were built."

"Habitat didn't help make it what they said it would be"

Damned ingrates. But did anyone expect any different from these Jerry Springer Show rejects?

This is yet more proof that there should be no representation without taxation. Wards of the state should have no vote in how tax money is spent.

We don't need to return to the days of poll taxes and property qualifications. However, persons of sound mind and body who do no work and depend on welfare largesse for their living should not be permitted to vote.

-ccm

[potlatch]

My Father taught me that you only appreciate what you have earned or worked for.

People who live in subsidised or 'project' housing seem to have no pride in keeping them nice. They always look 'trashy' after a few years.

You would think the 'Habitat' people would do better!

[Reactionary]

Of course it's a mess. Everything they touch is a mess.

Liberals have yet to figure out that indescriminate compassion is for slaves and layabouts. They've yet to understand that, when someone is given something without really working for it, they behave as though it isn't worth much.

Don't tell them, though. Liberals love to feel good about themselves above all else.

[autoresponder]

Blessed are the LOTTO playing lazy people on crack, for they will always have a car up on blocks next to a green flowered sofa covered with T-Bird empties in the front yard.

[sarasmom]

I think you just agreed with me!