CHA defends Tubman relocation effort, cites only one person left homeless

photo Old clothesline poles are seen at the site of the former Harriet Tubman Homes.

WHAT'S NEXT• What: CHA will discuss its Harriet Tubman relocation report.• When: 12:30 p.m. Tuesday• Where: Dogwood Manor

After several organizations and local pastors accused the Chattanooga Housing Authority of causing homelessness by vacating and demolishing public housing sites, CHA board chairman Eddie Holmes responded with a report stating that the housing authority can account for all but four of the 291 Harriet Tubman housing development families it was responsible for relocating. Only one person became homeless, he said.

"We didn't just tear Harriet Tubman down and say you all are on your own," said Holmes. "We had a place for them to go. Now whether or not they chose to go there is a different story."

For example, some people may have been assigned to live in East Lake or College Hill Courts, but they chose not to go there, said Holmes.

Still others received vouchers to pay for privately owned homes or apartments, but voucher holders may not want to live in certain locations or they may want more bedrooms than allocated, he said.

Holmes plans to discuss the report at the housing agency's board meeting next week at Dogwood Manor at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

More than 600 units of public housing in Chattanooga have been demolished or sold in the past decade. The housing authority vacated and closed the 440-unit Harriet Tubman in 2012. But relocation remains a prime concern with CHA stating in its 2015 and five-year plan that it intends to apply for the disposition or demolition of College Hill Courts and East Lake Courts, the city's two largest and oldest public housing sites. The two sites account for more than 900 units of public housing.

Holmes prepared the Tubman report in response to several local pastors and community leaders who brought the concerns at the housing authority's last board meeting. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also requires HUD to submit a relocation plan for its residents.

According to the Tubman report:

• 129 households or 44 percent of families from the defunct public housing site requested a housing voucher.

• About 28.8 percent or 84 households went to other public housing sites;

• 21 percent or 62 households got out of public housing and into a private residence.

CHA said only four of the 291 households are in an "unknown location," and four families lost their vouchers because they exceeded income limits or were in some other violation. Seven former Tubman residents have died, according to the report.

The one man who became homeless roams near the Brainerd Road tunnel, and the housing authority keeps track of him, said Holmes.

Holmes reviewed the report at the October NAACP meeting.

Several people challenged the housing authority's numbers.

Gloria Griffith, an elder at Renaissance Presbyterian Church, said she helped at least five people in the past year who were former residents living in hotels, homeless because they had nowhere else to go.

"It's downright ridiculous," said Griffith. "Where are the people going? The city is not providing for them."

Dr. Elenora Woods, the local NAACP's housing chair, said she questions the report and would like the names and addresses of residents to verify their location and to see that they have adequate living conditions.

The NAACP wrote letters to HUD demanding that the housing authority not be allowed to demolish or sell any more public housing sites until it provides the community with a relocation plan for each resident. That plan should extend beyond giving residents vouchers since only 30 percent of people with vouchers actually find housing, said Woods.

NAACP Secretary Eric Atkins said the organization has sent several letters to HUD concerning preserving public housing, but has received "no meaningful response that results in any action," he said.

Said Holmes, "We have to maintain our units. If we can't afford them and HUD is giving us no more money, what choice do we have but to close them?"

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 757-6431.

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