Sad state of affairs as people seeking housing vouchers in Boca Raton turned away

Boca Raton made the news yesterday in a definitely negative way. Hundreds of people had come to the Boca Raton Housing Authority as early as 8 hours before the time set for handing out vouchers. The HA had set 9 a.m. as the start time. But The Palm Beach Post said, “The agency, worried about the size of the crowd, decided about 2 a.m. to hand out about 500 applications and reserve some for later.”

Based on the video link at the end of this column, I think most of the applicants were young, single mothers. When the vouchers ran out, the crowd, described as numbering about 500 by the newspaper, became angry. In addition to police, nearly 50 firefighters and paramedics were on the scene.

One thing that might have helped: a Web site. There’s a general impression that poor people aren’t Web literate. But that isn’t the case in my opinion. Even if you don’t have a computer, you can go to the library and use one. A distinct site for the HA—at the least, a page on the city Web site—might help. I phoned the HA today and they confirmed they don’t have a Web site, but listings for housing can be found at the site gosection8.com. If you visit that site and do a search for Boca Raton housing, you’ll see why there were so many people there for vouchers. Rent is high in that area and this type of housing is limited.

From what I saw, the police did a good job. There were few injuries and no deaths. It’s my opinion the city and county need to assist the HA with whatever needs to be done. If faith-based groups will help, let them. And it’s a good idea next time to have a plan in place if vouchers are limited—screen applicants ahead of time if necessary. And above all, give those applicants a specific local Web site and clear contact information. At this moment, the phone number for the HA is incorrect on the city’s own site. The correct phone number is 561-206-6200.

Poor people in Boca Raton are obviously desperate for housing, a need that must be addressed by local government. The cops, paramedics and firefighters should not be necessary to the voucher process.

The video could also be used to another end. Show it in classrooms and churches—let teens both male and female see the plight of women who have nowhere to turn trying to raise children on their own, waiting in line for government mercy. The movie industry loves to make films showing a young unmarried woman getting pregnant and ending up all happy-happy. That’s art not life.

**Watch the video at the Palm Beach Post.

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