
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993                   TAG: 9312310100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAVANNAH, GA.                                LENGTH: Medium

CHARACTER NOT ENOUGH FOR TEEN TO KEEP HOME

A judge considered 17-year-old Nevika King responsible enough to stay with her younger brother in their public housing apartment after their mother died. But they could be evicted because they are too young to qualify for public housing.

They would be eligible if Nevika were pregnant or an unwed mother.

The judge, John Beam, named neighbor Brenda Johnson their custodian as an alternative to putting the teen-ager and 13-year-old Charles in separate foster homes. Beam based his ruling on evidence of Nevika's "superior personal qualities and her reliability."

The Kings' mother died in April of complications from AIDS.

Raymond Harris, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, asked Savannah public housing officials not to act against the two until HUD officials in Washington review their case. "This is not a normal situation. I think this cries out for some reasonable relief," Harris said.

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said their eviction "would be a red-tape tragedy."

"Not only is she an achiever, but she is a survivor," Terrie Mehlhorn, who works in the counselor's office at Jenkins High School, said of Nevika King. She is in the accelerated program at the school.

Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros wants to see some flexibility in HUD guidelines in cases like this, Harris said.

"There are extenuating circumstances. You have to take these circumstances under consideration," Harris said. "I say, God bless that child. This is a very responsible 17-year-old. Those are the sort of things we ought to be rewarding."

Housing Authority lawyer Malberry Smith said the authority offered to move the Kings and Johnson into an apartment in another development, but they declined.

Johnson, who has four children of her own, said she and the King siblings "didn't want to be transferred from one project to another. We call this home here."

The Kings, whose father died of AIDS last year, and their lawyer have declined comment. Court records say they were told shortly after their mother died that they could not stay in the three-room apartment. With government aid, they have kept paying their rent.

by CNB