Free from New Orleans


Former residents aren't going back
I am not surprised. Former New Orleans citizens found something better.

Despite oft-heard protests about the dearth of public housing in New Orleans, the Housing Authority of New Orleans said Monday that it has at least 283 apartments repaired, cleaned and ready for former public housing tenants.

Problem is, it can't seem to entice former residents to return.

"I'm just being honest: A lot of residents are saying, 'Not at this time. We're happy where we are,' " said HANO's government affairs liaison Darren Martin at a special meeting of the New Orleans City Council's housing committee in Baton Rouge.

"Residents want to return back home," Martin said. "But there is the issue of crime. . . . Some of their kids are in better schools."

The reasons for residents' delayed returns are complex, from the city's struggling public school system and lack of health care to the long-standing turf wars that make the idea of transplanting families from one end of New Orleans to the other a realistic risk of running into violence.

Housing advocates said many residents are fearful of moving into complexes perceived as rivals.

"They're worried their children won't be safe," said Laura Tuggle, an attorney with the New Orleans Legal Action Corporation, which serves the poor. "That they'll get jumped on. It's really terrible that's true, but it's a fact of life."

Given a taste of freedom, guess what most people choose?

*whistles "We Shall Overcome"*

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sat - June 2, 2007 at 02:52 PM  Tag


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