Rosemary Holmes has spent six decades of her life living in Newark’s Terrell Holmes. She is 68-years-old and has raised her children in the building. She has also developed relationships with the other tenants in the building. However, Rosemary is facing a new battle. The Trump Administration is planning on getting rid of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rosemary stated that moving someone to a place that they do not want to live is a form of imprisonment. She stated that she may be forced to move if the Department of Housing and Urban Development no longer exists. Rosemary is one of the many people who will be affected if the Trump Administration gets rid of the HUD.
Douglas Rice is a senior policy analyst for the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. He stated that the proposed budget will cut funds by 16 percent, or $7.7 billion. The final budget will likely be approved by 2018. Over 20,000 renters will lose their assistance for every one percent the budget is cut.
Ben Carson, who is the HUD secretary, has also expressed interest in getting rid of the housing policy. He stated that the HUD fair housing policy is a failed socialist experience. Rhonda is another tenant who lives in Terrell Holmes. She stated that public housing should be kept because more people would go homeless without it.
Rhonda also stated that people will be faced with tough decisions. They will have to decide whether they will eat or keep their housing. Michael Higgins, Jr. is an organizer who works for Families United for Racial and Economic Justice. This is a Brooklyn-based company. He has stated that he is not surprised by the HUD cuts.
Michael stated that public housing has been in bad shape for a long time. It has been steadily getting cuts for the past several years. It is estimated that 25 percent of low-income individuals receive housing assistance from federal programs. There have been efforts made to get rid of the HUD long before Trump came into the office.
Drew Curtis works for the Ironbound Community Corporation. He has stated that people have been trying to get rid of the HUD since 2013. Drew recommends that tenants keep putting pressure on political leaders.
Rosemary has been fighting to stay in her home for the past year. She has stated that the reason people want to get rid of the HUD is to make poor Hispanics and blacks suffer. While HUD cuts have been proposed, New York taxpayers are spending millions of dollars per day to protect Trump Towers.
People have stated that they do not want to pay millions to protect Trump Towers if needy people go without housing. Torrejon Chu stated that the Trump Administration cares more about profit than people’s needs. He also stated that people have to stick together in order to strengthen their communities.