Mushmouth
04-02-2017, 09:28 AM
INDIANAPOLIS — Dozens of families remained at a lead-contaminated public housing complex in northwest Indiana despite a Friday target date to move them out so the city could tear down the buildings.
More than 270 families have left the housing development, West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, and officials hope to have the remaining 50 or so families out within a week. But the delay points to several problems with the evacuation effort, like limited rental options in the formerly industrial area, landlords who will not accept government housing vouchers and some residents’ resistance to being forced from the city.
Tara Adams, who lives in West Calumet and is a lifelong resident of East Chicago, said she has been seeking a new home for herself, her 19-year-old son and her 11-year-old daughter since last summer and has had their belongings packed for months. The temporary housing she has been offered is about 25 miles away, in what she worries is a perilous neighborhood across the state line on Chicago’s South Side.
“I for sure don’t want to move my 19-year-old son into an area where there’s a greater chance for him to get shot,” Ms. Adams said. “I don’t want to do that.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/us/west-calumet-housing-complex-lead-indiana.html?_r=0
More than 270 families have left the housing development, West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, and officials hope to have the remaining 50 or so families out within a week. But the delay points to several problems with the evacuation effort, like limited rental options in the formerly industrial area, landlords who will not accept government housing vouchers and some residents’ resistance to being forced from the city.
Tara Adams, who lives in West Calumet and is a lifelong resident of East Chicago, said she has been seeking a new home for herself, her 19-year-old son and her 11-year-old daughter since last summer and has had their belongings packed for months. The temporary housing she has been offered is about 25 miles away, in what she worries is a perilous neighborhood across the state line on Chicago’s South Side.
“I for sure don’t want to move my 19-year-old son into an area where there’s a greater chance for him to get shot,” Ms. Adams said. “I don’t want to do that.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/us/west-calumet-housing-complex-lead-indiana.html?_r=0