Go Figure: Government handouts spark unrest in FL

This gem of a sob story is from the Miami Herald. 5k people show up and completely trash a neighborhood for the chance to get subsidized housing. Go figure.

BY DAVID SMILEY
dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com

The hope that drove thousands to sleep outside overnight in Fort Lauderdale to apply for subsidized housing turned to outrage Saturday morning as throngs were sent home empty-handed, even though some applications were still available.

Authorities were stocked with 3,000 housing applications at the Robert P. Kelley building on West Sunrise Boulevard and Northwest Fifth Street.

But more than 5,000 arrived hours earlier than expected and began pushing against metal guardrails and police when an announcement came that there were not enough documents to go around.

''There are no more applications,'' a Fort Lauderdale police officer called out over a megaphone at 8:15 a.m. ``Your presence here is a waste of your time.''

In fact, 200 applications were still available when officials sent everyone home, according to Tam English, executive director of the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority.

That infuriated those who showed up at the advertised 7 a.m. opening only to learn they were too late.

''What kind of mess is this?'' said Betty Outlaw, who arrived about 6:45 a.m. with two nieces. Unemployed and living with her sister, Outlaw stood in line anyway.

''Every one of us is struggling,'' she said. ``Cheap rent would help a lot. I feel like they tricked us. Don't put our hopes up and then step on us.''

English said Saturday afternoon that he should have expected the large crowd.

''If I had to do it all over again I'd do it different,'' he said.

Thousands of men, women and children in line began jostling for better positions before sunrise. One person was arrested for trespassing, according to Sgt. Frank Sousa, a police spokesman. Three people suffered minor injuries and one pregnant woman, reporting labor pains, was taken to a hospital, said Fort Lauderdale city spokesman Matt Little.

''A larger crowd than anticipated showed up,'' said Sousa. ``If it would have continued it would have provided for an unsafe environment due to the amount of elderly and children present.''

SECTION 8 SUBSIDY

The applications are part of the federal Section 8 subsidy program in which applicants with low incomes spend only 30 percent of their monthly wages on housing. The housing authority pays the remaining rent.

English said the Department of Housing and Urban Development will pick 2,500 of the filled-out applications, which will then be assigned a number at random during a lottery. The first on the list will likely be called in three to six months. The last could wait more than two years.

He said it has not been decided how or whether the remaining applications will be made available.

Veronica Lindsay was one of thousands who arrived before midnight.

Walking away from the center with a gold-colored voucher in hand and a lawn chair slung around her shoulder, the 25-year-old cosmetologist and mother of two said she can't afford the $1,200 monthly rent on her apartment.

While she said it may seem a little excessive to wait 10 hours in 55-degree temperatures for a chance simply to make a waiting list, the potential of finding cheaper housing made enduring the hectic line worth it.

''There is always hope,'' she said.

For many, optimism turned to frustration as the night wore on.

SPORADIC SCUFFLES

By 5 a.m., people began to push and shove, leading to scuffles, according to Olivia Fears, a Bradenton woman who drove to Fort Lauderdale Friday night.

''I didn't know the line would be like this,'' she said, tucking an application into her purse as officers warned that someone may try to steal the document. ``I'm relieved, but I'll feel better when I get a letter that I have been accepted.''

After the crowd left, Northwest Fifth Avenue was littered with McDonalds bags, Gatorade bottles, strollers, plastic lawn chairs, coolers and comforters -- enough to fill three dumpsters, English said.

Teddy Jacobs, a 27-year-old, unemployed Miami Gardens man stood across the street without an application and watched in disappointment.

''It was crazy,'' said Jacobs, who along with his wife and their 2-month-old baby, is basically homeless. ``People were pushing. I thought it was unorganized.''