Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Upstate NY Housing Authority Fumbles Away $5.1 Million Of Free Federal Cash Earmarked For Rent Subsidy Vouchers For Homeless Suffering From Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, Etc.; Unspent Grants Get Forfeited Back To HUD, Which Then Added Insult To Injury By Slashing Program's Annual Budget By Nearly 75%
In Syracuse, New York, syracuse.com reports:
The Syracuse Housing Authority failed to spend $5 million in federal grants that could have provided housing for up to 200 homeless people with mental illnesses, addictions or other disabilities.
The housing authority returned $5.1 million in unspent grants from 2010 to 2015 – about $1 million per year -- to the consternation of city officials and homelessness prevention advocates.
The lost money would be enough to move 200 people out of shelters and into permanent housing, according to data from the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York. That would cut the local homeless population nearly in half.
Syracuse Housing Authority officials say their ability to use the so-called Shelter Plus Care grants has been hampered because homeless shelters don't refer enough people to the program. Others say the housing authority is ill-equipped to work with homeless clients who need support services in addition to housing.
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and leaders from the homeless coalition have urged the housing authority to make better use of the grants.
Paul Driscoll, the city's commissioner of neighborhood and business development, said he does not blame the housing authority for struggling to administer the program, which requires coordination with outside service agencies. But Driscoll said the problems must get fixed.
"It is inexcusable to send money back to HUD when the need exists in this town," Driscoll said.
There will be less money at stake in the future. Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development slashed the housing authority's annual Shelter Plus Care funding from $2.6 million to $687,000.
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Shelter Plus Care is a small part of the operation of the housing authority, which owns 15 apartment complexes with more than 2,500 units and distributes housing vouchers to more than 3,300 other households.
The housing authority does a good job managing housing-only voucher programs such as Section 8, Driscoll said. But the authority has struggled with Shelter Plus Care because of the requirement to coordinate with outside service agencies who provide the "care'' element, he said.
Mental illness and substance abuse, the most common disabilities targeted by Shelter Plus Care, are common factors in chronic homelessness, experts say.
***
The inability to coordinate support services internally has limited the housing authority's capacity to approve people for Shelter Plus Care vouchers.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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