NJ State House: 150 rally for affordable housing FWD

Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sat, 24 Oct 1998 18:54:24 -0400


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FWD  http://www.bergen.com/region/rally20199810205.htm


150 RALLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Tuesday, October 20, 1998

The Associated Press


TRENTON -- Some New Jersey residents say they are a
paycheck away from homelessness, and they want
Governor Whitman to help.

About 150 people called for affordable housing at a State
House rally Monday.

"I have to work three jobs to maintain a nice home for
my children," Iris Flores of Trenton told the crowd. "I
want these people to know, to recognize and see our
faces in the crowd, and realize that we are human beings
who need. If we didn't need, we wouldn't be here."

The fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in
Newark is $829, according to the federal office of
Housing and Urban Development. However, many
Newark residents earn $10,000 a year, said Sandy
Accomando of the New Jersey Alliance for the
Homeless, which sponsored the rally along with the
Affordable Housing Network.

"The math just doesn't compute, and if we don't get the
government to listen, they are never going to solve the
problem of homelessness," Accomando said.

Rally organizers cited a recent National Low Income
Housing Coalition report showing New Jersey has the
second-highest rental housing costs nationwide, behind
Hawaii.

Whitman spokeswoman Jayne O'Connor said affordable
housing units have increased by more than 40 percent
since Whitman took office in 1994.

More than 20,000 new homes have been created or
renovated under a state program providing money for
developers who build new homes in cities, O'Connor
said.

Whitman also authorized nearly $300 million in
low-interest loans to people who wanted to own homes
but couldn't afford to buy one, she said.

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<paraindent><param>right,left</param>150 RALLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING


Tuesday, October 20, 1998


The Associated Press

</paraindent>


TRENTON -- Some New Jersey residents say they are a

paycheck away from homelessness, and they want

Governor Whitman to help.


About 150 people called for affordable housing at a State

House rally Monday.


"I have to work three jobs to maintain a nice home for

my children," Iris Flores of Trenton told the crowd. "I

want these people to know, to recognize and see our

faces in the crowd, and realize that we are human beings

who need. If we didn't need, we wouldn't be here."


The fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in

Newark is $829, according to the federal office of

Housing and Urban Development. However, many

Newark residents earn $10,000 a year, said Sandy

Accomando of the New Jersey Alliance for the

Homeless, which sponsored the rally along with the

Affordable Housing Network.


"The math just doesn't compute, and if we don't get the

government to listen, they are never going to solve the

problem of homelessness," Accomando said.


Rally organizers cited a recent National Low Income

Housing Coalition report showing New Jersey has the

second-highest rental housing costs nationwide, behind

Hawaii.


Whitman spokeswoman Jayne O'Connor said affordable

housing units have increased by more than 40 percent

since Whitman took office in 1994.


More than 20,000 new homes have been created or

renovated under a state program providing money for

developers who build new homes in cities, O'Connor

said.

                                          

Whitman also authorized nearly $300 million in

low-interest loans to people who wanted to own homes

but couldn't afford to buy one, she said.


END FORWARD

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **


HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK  <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/>  Home Page

ARCHIVES  <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html>  read posts to HPN

TO JOIN  <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>

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