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Feature
Inadequate Services Were Discussed At Family Town Hall Forum
Special to the Sentinel-Bulletin
That clear message was stated in no uncertain terms during the Family Town Hall Forum at Beulah Baptist Church last Thursday night. For The Family, Inc. spon- sored the Forum in conjunc- tion with the Hillsborough County Chapter of the NAACP and Pastors On Patrol.
An impressive crowd was on hand for the first of four Fo- rums in the Spring Edition of the Series. Of those who at- tended, 57% either receive food stamps or knows some- one who is. The correspon- ding figures for Social Security was 63%, 39% for Disability benefits, and 27% for Medicare. Meanwhile, 53% of the crowd either knows some- one who relies on Medicaid or now receives those benefits.
For The Family Adminis- trator W. Ward Cox moder- ated the Forum, and pointed out how seniors are harmed by the lack of a Social Security cost of living increase in 2016. He also cited the fact that the Food Stamp program is being cut by 10% even though one of every six Americans struggles to find enough to eat.
NAACP member and life- long Tampa resident John Bowden said that fewer peo- ple (and especially African- Americans) would need Food Stamps or other services if there were more businesses that provided more jobs. He added that “these days, there are no other choices.”
Pastor Jerry Nealy of Friendly Missionary Baptist Church said that “Tax cuts dis- mantle our capacity to give vulnerable families what they need.”
Pastor Willie Dixon of the COACH Foundation added that “more whites depend on human services than African- Americans anyway.”
However, there was a strong consensus that the peo- ple are made vulnerable by factors that go way beyond services.
NAACP member Connie Burton pointed out that land- lords of subsidized housing properties often require ten- ants to prove their monthly in- comes are four times higher than their subsidies. Since this is impossible for many people who receive SSI and other ben- efits, this effectively disquali- fies people who can move into housing they are otherwise el- igible for. She also said that “the (federal) Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment is not our friend. They supervise Section 8 Housing, but support gentrification that makes it impossible for people to afford to stay in their homes.”
Andre Hill of the Urban Progress Alliance is trying to do something about the gentri- fication that is starting to move into high gear in West Tampa. He’s encouraging people to attend the Alliance
meeting at 6 p. m. on Thurs- day, May 26 at the MLK Recre- ation Center (2200 N. Oregon Ave.) to develop a strategy that keeps neighborhood property in the hands of their current owners.
Representatives from the Property Appraiser’s Office will be joined by local tax offi- cials and attorneys. He is con- vinced that there is no time to waste, and noted that “the economy is the key element as to why we have these problems in the African-American com- munity.”
Hillsborough NAACP Vice President Joe Robinson pointed out the impact of predatory lending on personal vulnerability: “People in our community haven’t recovered and they weren’t bailed out like the banks were.” He added that the foreclosure cycle on homeowners is picking up again. This works into the hands of people trying to gen- trify West Tampa because they can buy property for much less than market value. Robin- son says that seniors are espe- cially vulnerable because they can fall prey to signing away their property in reverse mort- gages.
Dr. Carolyn Collins is a former Hillsborough NAACP President who believes “a serv- ice we have failed that we are mandated to give people is ed- ucation.” She says that un- equal education perpetuates vulnerability, partly by re- stricting entry into four-year colleges according to entrance exams that have been shown to be culturally biased: “It’s a game being played, and we have to determine what is the service and what is the benefit we’re dealing with.”
She strongly believes that until this issue is addressed with the attention and finan- cial commitment it deserves, far too many people will be un- able to attain their potential.
Her sentiments were echoed by Hillsborough NAACP Education Chair Saba Baptiste: “When do we start? Until we decide that, we’re going to come back to this Forum and debate again.” She worries that even the people who successfully obtain their high school diploma will be more likely to agree to things that are not in their best inter- est because they cannot read or write well enough.
Tanya Johnson- Williams of Manifestation Church is an NAACP member who said that, “it’s traumatic to mothers, veterans, and oth- ers who have to overcome red tape” in obtaining services for which they are entitled.
She also focused on two other aspects of personal vul- nerability. One involves the reduced inspection of food, medicines, and the environ- ment because budget cuts have reduced the number of inspec- tors who monitor the enforce- ment of existing laws.
The other has to do with the number of elderly and poor
Americans who are given psy- chotropic drugs that affect their judgment and coping skills.
The next Family Town Hall Forum in Hillsborough County is Thursday, June 2 at 7 p. m.
at the Greater Palm River Point CDC (7454 Palm River Road near U. S. 301). It will be your chance to speak up about how your Food Stamps, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Disability, or other services
just don’t add up.
For more information,
please contact For The Family at forthefamilytampa@- gmail.com, visit www.- StrongerCommunity.com, or call (800) 355-6788.
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B