[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish housing voucher applicants brave rain; one arrest made

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish housing voucher applicants brave rain; one arrest made
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on January 10, 2013 at 5:26 PM, updated January 10, 2013 at 7:18 PM Print

After fights broke in the jam-packed St. Bernard Parish housing voucher wait
list line on Wednesday, thousands more people filtered in to apply on
Thursday despite intense early rainfall. Sheriff's deputies made six arrests
after fights erupted Wednesday -- mainly due to people attempting to cut in
line -- but on Thursday, the rain provided the most drama in Chalmette.

Still, one man was arrested on an outstanding warrant. The line on Thursday
again stretched around the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center as thousands
braved the rain during the second and final day that the parish was
accepting applications to determine eligibility for the wait list.

Law enforcement also was highly visible after Wednesday's fights.

"We had several thousand people out there. People jumped in front of others.
And then this afternoon, a lady started feeling ill and had to be medically
transported out of there," Parish President Dave Peralta said on Wednesday
afternoon.

The scene outside the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center, 8425 W. Judge Perez
Dr., was described as frenzied with people in line pushing and shoving each
other to get ahead in the line. Some people in line reportedly thought the
applications were to get actual vouchers, as opposed to determining
eligibility for the wait list.

Peralta said on Thursday that things went much more smoothly. While on
Wednesday, the center shut down a bit early, about 2:30 p.m. instead of 3
p.m., on Thursday it stayed open later, until about 4:30 p.m.

Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves said that 550 people submitted
applications on Wednesday and more than 1,000 people signed up on Thursday.

Steve Cannizaro, the Sheriff's Office spokesman, said that six people were
arrested on misdemeanors Wednesday, mostly for disturbing the peace.

Cannizaro said on Thursday deputies became concerned when they noticed a man
with a gun, but it turned out he had the proper permit. But, then, one of
his friends had a minor outstanding warrant and so was brought into the
station.

The federal housing program, funded by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development and run by the parish's Housing and Redevelopment Department,
provides rental subsidies to very low-income and extremely-low income
families.

Parish housing officials have said the parish has 539 vouchers, but all of
them are filled. The current application process simply is to determine
eligibility to get onto the wait list for the voucher program.

Currently there is no wait list, but during this process, a wait list will
be created and then, as those limited amount of vouchers become available,
they will be given to the people on that list, as long as they are qualified
applicants.

The parish estimates that from 17 to 20 additional vouchers may become
available this year. The parish was reprimanded by HUD for excluding
nonresidents in 2008, but is now complying with HUD requirements and
applicants do not have to be St. Bernard residents to get on the list.

If a voucher becomes available, participants are free to choose any housing
that meets the requirements of the program, as it is not limited to units
located in subsidized housing projects. The housing subsidy is paid to the
landlord directly by the public housing authority on behalf of the
participating family and then the family pays the difference between the
actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the
program, according to HUD guidelines.

In general, the family's income may not exceed 50 percent of the median
income for the parish. By law, the housing authority must provide 75 percent
of its vouchers to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30 percent of the
area median income.