THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120237
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS AND MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 71 lines
The city's housing authority on Monday extended the time for public response to a proposed ``social lease'' that requires adult public-housing tenants to do community service.
The deadline was moved to Dec. 20, from Dec. 6, and the commission's vote was postponed to Jan. 13.
If approved, the plan would make Norfolk one of the first American cities to require community service from public-housing tenants, according to several national sources.
The proposal by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority requires that public-housing residents volunteer 20 hours a year to their communities. Other provisions in the social lease would mandate that parents keep their children in school or face eviction.
If approved, community service would be phased in, starting with new tenants Feb. 1 and then five months later for all adults except the elderly or those with disabilities.
Ray Strutton, NRHA's assistant executive director for housing operations called it ``a test period.''
Norfolk officials are divided on the community-service proposal.
On Monday, Joshua Paige, one of the city's seven housing commissioners, urged the agency to hold a residents' referendum on the social lease.
``Let the people vote on it,'' Paige said.
But David H. Rice, the NRHA's executive director, said: ``I think we should continue to meet with them rather than have them vote. . . . It's a can of worms, . . . a bad precedent.''
But Paige contended: ``People in public housing - every once in a while, when voices are raised, we must let them know we're being fair.'' He said he wanted to see more volunteerism, but he expressed concern about it being required.
``If the Heart Association calls and demands I walk the streets, I have a problem.''
Many tenants say they resent the proposed requirement. Some compared it to courts imposing community-service time on criminals. Others said it was like slavery.
Also, some tenants said they were angry because the proposal emerged while they already were having to contend with reductions in various social programs.
``Already we've had massive cuts this month, including food stamps, and here you come. We're stretched on every side,'' Yvonne Miles, a Young Terrace resident, told the housing commission Monday.
Like Miles, some tenant leaders said they believe in volunteerism but do not think it should be imposed as a lease requirement.
``Many do (volunteer) on a daily basis and object to a mandate,'' Miles said. ``Look at how many are doing 20 hours a week.''
Meanwhile, tenants who have paying jobs said they already were contributing to the community and did not have time for volunteer work.
Volunteer work could include attending tenant and PTA meetings, helping the elderly with meals, and rolling out garbage cans for neighbors with disabilities.
The housing authority would ask tenant organizations to help document the volunteer hours and organize award ceremonies to boost community morale.
The idea of mandatory community service for public-housing residents also has been debated in Congress. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a provision to require tenants to do volunteer work eight hours a month. However, the bill did not pass the Senate.
Also, housing authority officials across the country have been divided on the issue. There is concern that the local agencies do not have the resources to monitor the community service.
Norfolk's housing authority acknowledges that it, too, does not yet know how to go about monitoring compliance.
City Council member Paul R. Riddick has scheduled a ``town meeting'' on the NRHA proposals for Dec. 4 at Ruffner Middle School on Tidewater Drive. by CNB