Public housing residents see ownership
options
We support the move by the Lafayette Housing Authority to
transition people in public housing from rentals to homeownership. By the same
token, we recognize the problems that could be created with the construction of
60 homes and several storefronts that are planned for 14 acres of property on
Patterson Street next to Alice Boucher Elementary School. School officials say
they were not notified of the plans, and have serious concerns about the impact
of an anticipated increase in student enrollment.
Alice Boucher Elementary Assistant Principal Preston Welcome said more
students will mean more portable buildings and the campus will look like a camp.
James Easton, Lafayette Parish
superintendent of schools, was also unaware of the housing authority's intent to
build next to the elementary school. He noted there will be a need for new
development, and a plan of action will have to be created.
While there is
the potential for problems within the school system, the initiative is an
important one and will have long-range benefits. We urge the authority and the
school system to adopt a cooperative spirit and work to produce the benefits
without creating undue burdens for the school or district.
The program, under which homes will be made available to those who qualify
under a Section 8 federal program, is the basis of a similar development now
under way on St. Antoine Street.
The transition from rentals to homeownership is not without problems for
those families involved. The skills and creativity shown by the local Housing
Authority and its director, Walter Guillory, will be tested once again.
The exciting aspect of the Housing Authority undertaking is that studies done
by a wide variety of research agencies indicate homeownership can be a strong
factor in wealth accumulation. In other words, the program could be a tangible
weapon in the fight against poverty in Lafayette.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy
Development and Research says wealth accumulation for low-income and minority
households experiences a major increase through home ownership. "In this regard,
current initiatives to increase low-income homeownership seem both desirable and
valid," a PD&R study says. "Moreover, this work suggests that policies
designed to ensure that once households achieve homeownership, they remain
homeowners (rather than reverting to rental tenure), and policies that enable
families to transition to higher valued owned units over time will increase
substantially their potential housing wealth accumulation."
The study was an extremely thorough one, done over a nine-year period. The
conclusions are highly positive and extremely appealing. We believe the entire
community will benefit.
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