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AHA Defends Lack of Accessible Housing The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) maintains 14,744 units of public housing of which only 131 units are accessible to the handicapped and disabled. This averages out to AHA only accomodating 2.4% of the disabled poor and elderly, but yet, there are 1,616 units vacant Of the 131 units termed "accessible" by AHA, many of them are indeed not accessibility in some cases stops at the doorway. On March 26th, approximately 60 angry, poor, disabled, elderly, and teenage people assembled at the Atlanta Downtown Labor Center for a Poor Peoples Empowerment Forum presented by Disabled in Action, Inc. (DLA) and the Georgia New Alliance Party (NAP) to collectively speak out against these realities. The forum addressed three major concerns: 1) the mismanagement of funds by AHA in building and reconstructing accessible housing; 2) the insufficient number of accessible housing units built since 1973 to meet the neeeds of disabled people; and 3) the insensitivie treatment of disabled individuals by AHA personnel. Alvaader Fraizer, an African American woman who is founder and director of The People's Law Institution based in New York, state chair of Lesbians and Gays for Fulani and New York state lesbian and gay organizers opened the forum with anger at the treatment of the disabled not only in Atlanta, but across the country. Addressing the three major concerns, Fraizer pointed out "to exclude, to abandon, to not support the whole lives of disabled people is an issue of human decency." Roy Norman, representing AHA as a last minute replacement of Samuel Hider, Executive Director of AHA, responded to the concerns. In accounting for the 1,616 vacant units, Norman stated, "600 units are either efficiencies or one-bedrooms, 150-200 units are in high rise buildings and have been ready for as many as five years with no one being placed in those units primarily because the people have not either wanted to live in those settings (audience openly laughed) or maybe we have not done a good job in letting them know that they are there and that they are safe and we assume some of the responsibility from a marketing point of view. Another 250 units are vacant and waiting repair, 200 are not economically feasible for repairment, and last, approximately 400 units where move- out turn -over rate is excessive and requiring constant repairment" Norman further stated, "In 1980, two units were converted to accomodate the handicaped population and for as long as nine months, thirty units went unoccupied waiting for the persons to present themselves." In order to occupy a unit the disabled, elderly or handicapped person must either be with a family or able to live independently. Currently, according to Norman, "there are families on AHA's waiting list VOICES t seeking handicapped accessible units." Realizing also that repair and construction are required, Norman insisted that with a limited amount of funds, AHA could only do a limited amount of work. "For the fiscal year 1988, $10 million worth of needs were assessed from 42 sites with only $4 million being alloted in the 1988 budget for this purpose." In assessing“the msensitiviteness of the AHA personnel, Norman assured the audience that no one on the staff was unsupportive of the needs of disabled people. After listening to the reasons given by Norman, Rev. Calvin Peterson, president of DIA and the New Alliance party's candidate for the Public Service Commission, refused to accept such "reasoning that leads to dehumanizing living conditions for America's disabled and senior citizens." Posing opposition to Norman, Peterson stated, "I cannot understand how the people from the housing authority could stand up and tell people stuff that is totally incorrect I cannot accept this!" Peterson also noted that over the past 10 years, the AHA has given $246,719,584.00 by the government under the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program. In 1988 alone, approximately $24 million has been allotted for improvement, whereas Norman could only account for $4 million. Disabled, able-bodied, and elderly residents shook their heads in disbelief at Norman's defense of the AHA. Raymond Sellers has epilepsy, his wife has cerebral palsy and they are parents of a three-month old daughter. They currently live in Capitol Homes. The Sellers family has been moved twice and has yet to recieve an accessible apartment Bernard Baker, a quadraplegic, is a resident of the AHA who says he "dealt with AHA until he couldn't deal with them any longer." When you have to deal with no accessible transportation, you have to deal with public housing, and then you have to deal with the public housing people's attitudes.... some of their attitudes actually stink!" Mark Johnson, a local activist in the fight for civil rights of disabled people, challenged the AHA's "telethon mentality" of constructing and/or repairing only the number of units for which there is a demand. He also questioned Hider's sincerity, given Hider did not attend the forum. "If Mr. Hider was so sincere, he would send a letter to the Secretary of HUD within the next week to say that he is appalled that we don't have final regulations of the Section 504 Rehabilitation Act after fifteen years. If he's so committed, I want to see the statement If he wants to put himself out there and say I believe the people..., he has the opportunity." "The way we're going to win the fight for decent Pride Foundation Receives $1.1 Million Seattle-Pride Foundation of Seattle, Washington, announced two bequests totalling $1.1 million dollars for fiscal year 1987. The bequests were left by two Seattle men. They were Gerald Geisert, who left Pride Foundation $ 100,000 after his death from lung cancer, and Allan Tonning, who established the Tonning Trust Fund of one million dollars before his death due to AIDS. The generous bequests of Tonning and Geisert culminated the two-year birth of Pride Foundation, which was founded as an outgrowth of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), "the Chamber of Commerce to the gay and lesbian community." According to David Poot, Pride Foundation board member, "(The Pride Foundation) grew out of the number of funding requests the GSBA was receiving. As individual business people, there was only so much we could do. But we recognized the potential for a fund raising organization to offer grants to worthy causes in the gay and lesbian community." Tonning, who would eventually endow the organization, Pride Foundation President Mary Kay Wright and Vice-President Barbara Bailey were appointed by the GSBA board of directors to study other funding organizations established by affiliate members of the National Association of Business Councils (NABC). They were instructed to cull the best traits from the foundations of San Francisco, San Diego and Minneapolis to form what would become the Pride Foundation. "We were able to start at second base after reviewing their successes and failures," said Pool Tonning's million dollar endowment was placed into the Tonning Trust, which will be administered by Wright, Poot and the deceased's brother, Andrew Tonning. housing is through the building of an independent party that will represent our issues," stated Tammi Weinstein, Georgia state coordinator, NAP. "The AHA, the Democratic and Republican parties, as we've seen again and again, won't respond to our demands without that independent pressure. Building an independent third party has everything to do with winning the fight for decent and accessible housing." Peterson announced that on July 12,1988 there will be a march on the AHA. Mayor Young will be presented with 10,000 signatures in support of accessible and decent living conditions for disabled and elderly people. Peterson said, in conclusion, ’The AHA has traditionally and historically ignored, discriminated against and traditionally denied poor people of anything and I'd like to say today, that this attitude has to go! That attitude has to go; we will not take it any more!" -Patricia Jackson This will allow us to establish a sustaining fund," said Bailey. "This money will last in perpetuity. Funding for gay and lesbian organizations in Washington will never stop! I’m sure this could be just the beginning." According to Poot, Tonning's intent was for "the Pride Foundation to be the principle beneficiary..., but he wished to make certain the money never came under the control of radical fringe elements in the gay and lesbian community." Six percent of the invested principle plus interest will be awarded during the bi-annual granting cycles, which coincide with lesbian/gay pride week and the December holiday season. According to Bailey, "Our charter restricts grants to 501C-3 organizations (groups which qualify under IRS regulations as non-political), and requires that one- third of our grants be awarded to lesbian organizations, one-third to gay men's organizations, and one-third to co-gender groups." The original trust fund of one million dollars may be reduced on a 2-to-l matching-fund basis, up to $250,000, with funds raised by the community at large to build a gay and lesbian community center. It is a sorely needed service, according to Poot, who noted, "We are all paying rent, paying for secretarial services, and not to mention printing. If we could get this off the ground, we would literally be paying ourselves to perform those services. We could all be under the same roof." If such a community center is built using funds from the Tonning Trust, Tonning's will stipulates that it be named after his lover, Lany Jenkins, who proceeded him in death by one year. Geisert's bequest, unlike Tonning's, was promp ted by a brochure published by the Pride Foun dation. The brochure is disbributed to lawyers, who advise clients of the services provided by the Pride Foundation during the process of preparing a will. The Pride Foundation has grown faster than any original organizers anticipated. For this city of 600,000 the future is looking extremely bright Declared Poot, "We are preparing the future for today's gay and lesbian children. 1 ■ Chris Duncan null T rtrror^A cm Desktop Publishing, Inc*-* TYPESETTING / DESIGN / PRINTING Business Cards Resumes • Fivers Stationery Newsletters We know your fype-377»8899 1385 Oxford Rd. - Emory Village ■ ■ ■ ■ Sharon U Sanders psychotherapy 1549 Clairmont Rd. Suite 108 Decatur, GA 30033 (404) 373-0278 What do you consider "safe sex"? "Practically, I consider safe sex is no exchange of body fluids. A part of me wonders if safe sex is no sex. Even though I practice safe sex and I've had a negative test I'm still paranoid and wonder if I will get sick. Til be damned if I'll give up sex completely." Jack Gover, Atlanta, Georgia "No exchange of body fluids. Everyone should be concerned about getting AIDS. I don't think it's as easy for women to transfer to women than it is to transfer among men." Jean Hoffman, Atlanta, Georgia "No exchange of bodily fluids. About a year ago, I would have said it was boring, but that's gone. You have to do what you have to do to survive. It's definitely not boring now. You just get used to certain things." Wright Rushing, Atlanta, Georgia "I think the most important thing for women is trust It's important to talk with your partner about previous sexual experiences and risk factors. Unfortunately, there are no good safe sex practices for women." 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