THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080490
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The city's public housing task force expects to bring its recommendations to the City Council sometime in January and foresees approval soon after, its co-chairmen said Thursday.
``I get the feeling that they're immediately going to get into this and support it right away. They're pleased with the work,'' City Councilman Herbert M. Collins Sr., task-force co-chairman, said of his fellow council members.
On Thursday, the task force adopted its report much as presented in a draft version last month. There were more than 65 recommendations for improving the lives of Norfolk's 11,000 public-housing residents and their neighborhoods.
``I honestly believe this has a lot of meat to it,'' said City Councilman Mason C. Andrews, who co-chaired the task force with Collins.
The ideas, the results of nearly nine months of meetings, included the admonition that Norfolk not reduce the number of public housing units in the city.
The recommendations included:
Public housing must be redesigned to more closely resemble private housing.
Public housing should return to its original purpose of providing temporary shelter for needy families while still allowing long-term tenancy for poor people who are elderly or have disabilities.
Public housing should serve tenants from a broader population mix, including different income levels, but also provide more services to assist self-sufficiency efforts.
The panel acknowledged the ``formidable challenge'' of its recommendations, adding: ``it must be understood this is a long-term proposition and one that should not be weighed down by quick-fix expectations.''
Nevertheless, the panel expected steady progress and urged firm measurements for doing periodic assessments.
The task force also said the responsibility for improvements must be shared with ``commitment and active participation not only from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Norfolk public schools and city government, but also by other important members of the community, such as businesses, nonprofit organizations and religious institutions.''
To help ensure that the recommendations are carried out, the panel proposed an implementation committee and appointment of a staff coordinator. The task force said it wants agencies to help tenants and not get mired in turf battles.
Andrews said: ``The challenge is to keep the pathways open to those who have reasons to feel insecure, suspicious. They should be. We do a lot of fool things. But we have to keep the avenues of discussion open so that everyone feels that his or her voice is heard . . . You don't just say, `You've had your say.' ''
Several task-force members added their own special emphases.
Andrea Clark, former president of the Diggs Town Tenant Management Corp., said the city and tenants must work together to devise clear statements of expectations and responsibilities in relations between resident-governance groups and the housing authority.
Peter Decker, an attorney and member of the state Board of Education, urged the importance of early and continued educational intervention with youngsters from public housing because their academic achievement tends to be lower than that of students from other neighborhoods. MEMO: Copies of the task force recommendations soon will be avaialble for
viewing in all Norfolk public library branches. by CNB