Pubdate: Thu, 16 Aug 2001
Source: Medford Mail Tribune (OR)
Copyright: 2001 The Mail Tribune
Contact:  http://www.mailtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642

STAY FLEXIBLE

Housing Authority can tighten drug rules without going too far

Jackson County residents who live in federally subsidized housing shouldn't 
be booted from the program - and their homes - because of one minor misstep 
with drugs. But residents with serious drug problems belong somewhere else.

The issue has emerged as the Housing Authority of Jackson County, the 
agency that runs a program that provides government vouchers to help people 
pay their rent, is updating the rules tenants must follow.

Some landlords who rent to voucher recipients want the Housing Authority to 
enact a one-strike-you're-out approach to drug use: If tenants are 
convicted of drug use even once, they say, kick them out of the program and 
make room for people willing to follow the rules.

That's not how it works now. The Housing Authority allows a landlord to 
kick out a tenant for suspected illegal behavior but also allows the tenant 
convicted one time on drug charges to continue receiving federal funds and 
rent again.

That's too lenient an approach in some cases. Jackson County, perpetually 
short of affordable housing, has a waiting list of 1,500 families who would 
like help under the federal subsidy program. It's reasonable to require 
people to follow the rules to get the money.

At the same time, the Housing Authority needs to use latitude in deciding 
how to treat drug convictions. More important than whether a tenant's 
conviction is the first is how serious it is.

A renter convicted once of possessing an ounce of marijuana is less likely 
to be a problem than a tenant dealing heroin. A tenant following treatment 
for a drug problem may be better off in the subsidy program than out of it 
and desperate for money. The Housing Authority should consider families as 
well when deciding whether to boot drug abusers.

Some situations, on the other hand, call for swift action. People who cook 
meth in a back bedroom or sell drugs to neighbors should not receive public 
money to help make the rent. They should be out of the program the first 
time it happens.

Thanks to the long waiting list for help, tougher rules about drug abuse 
won't reduce the number of people helped by the subsidy program. What they 
may do is show tenants that the Housing Authority is serious about drug 
abuse by voucher recipients - and help make the housing available to those 
who deserve it.
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