Boston Seniors Need Your Help!
A letter from Sam Yoon:
I hope you had the opportunity to read the cover story in the Boston Herald about security in Boston public housing developments. Click here to read the story. Click here to read the Boston Globe's editorial on the subject.
I am contacting you today to ask for your help.
As the story says, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is considering eliminating daytime security guards at 13 buildings for seniors and people with disabilities.
We are in this mess because the federal government, and the priorities of the Bush administration, have put affordable housing for our most needy residents at the bottom of their priority list for years.
The Boston Housing Authority's budget is decided, not in Boston, but in Washington, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), based on the annual budgetary and appropriations decisions made in Congress. HUD has provided the BHA with bare-bones budgets year after year, and the BHA has done its best to keep our housing portfolio afloat.
I need you to call your U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators (click here to find your Congressman; click here for our Senators' information) and ask them for help.
Let them know that Boston's public housing, where the federal government is literally the landlord, is a vitally important priority for you, especially when it comes to the elderly and people with disabilities. Tell them you need them to fight for more funding in every federal budget or appropriation bill.
Also, I need you to call the BHA (617-988-4200) and ask them to keep the security guards in place. Tell them you are concerned about the security of our seniors, and that this not an area for budget cuts or compromise. As a public agency, the BHA needs to hear from you, so they can be better advocates for their own budget.
All of us who live and work and pay taxes in Boston have a right to feel safe in our homes, our businesses, our schools, and on our streets - including elderly residents now facing this ill-advised proposal to replace daytime security guards in their buildings with surveillance cameras.
After years of budgetary starvation, the BHA is forced to consider compromises, like cutting back on security guards for elderly and people with disabilities residents, even for a modest savings of $650,000 a year.
Let's face it, cameras don't deter crime. Security guards often know who the troublemakers are and can make sure they don't get into the buildings. Cameras can't do that.
This is why I need your help. All of us deserve not only to feel safe, but to be safe in our homes. For the elderly residents of these buildings, a sense of personal security is central to their quality of life. Our seniors deserve better.
I cannot do this work alone, nor can anyone in government, elected or otherwise.
We in City Hall are partners with the public, and we need each other. Today, our seniors and neighbors with disabilities who live in public housing need your help. Call your Congressman (click here), your Senators (click here), and call the BHA (617-988-4200).
Thank you in advance for your help, and for getting involved.
Sincerely,
Sam Yoon
Boston City Councilor At Large
I hope you had the opportunity to read the cover story in the Boston Herald about security in Boston public housing developments. Click here to read the story. Click here to read the Boston Globe's editorial on the subject.
I am contacting you today to ask for your help.
As the story says, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is considering eliminating daytime security guards at 13 buildings for seniors and people with disabilities.
We are in this mess because the federal government, and the priorities of the Bush administration, have put affordable housing for our most needy residents at the bottom of their priority list for years.
The Boston Housing Authority's budget is decided, not in Boston, but in Washington, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), based on the annual budgetary and appropriations decisions made in Congress. HUD has provided the BHA with bare-bones budgets year after year, and the BHA has done its best to keep our housing portfolio afloat.
I need you to call your U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators (click here to find your Congressman; click here for our Senators' information) and ask them for help.
Let them know that Boston's public housing, where the federal government is literally the landlord, is a vitally important priority for you, especially when it comes to the elderly and people with disabilities. Tell them you need them to fight for more funding in every federal budget or appropriation bill.
Also, I need you to call the BHA (617-988-4200) and ask them to keep the security guards in place. Tell them you are concerned about the security of our seniors, and that this not an area for budget cuts or compromise. As a public agency, the BHA needs to hear from you, so they can be better advocates for their own budget.
All of us who live and work and pay taxes in Boston have a right to feel safe in our homes, our businesses, our schools, and on our streets - including elderly residents now facing this ill-advised proposal to replace daytime security guards in their buildings with surveillance cameras.
After years of budgetary starvation, the BHA is forced to consider compromises, like cutting back on security guards for elderly and people with disabilities residents, even for a modest savings of $650,000 a year.
Let's face it, cameras don't deter crime. Security guards often know who the troublemakers are and can make sure they don't get into the buildings. Cameras can't do that.
This is why I need your help. All of us deserve not only to feel safe, but to be safe in our homes. For the elderly residents of these buildings, a sense of personal security is central to their quality of life. Our seniors deserve better.
I cannot do this work alone, nor can anyone in government, elected or otherwise.
We in City Hall are partners with the public, and we need each other. Today, our seniors and neighbors with disabilities who live in public housing need your help. Call your Congressman (click here), your Senators (click here), and call the BHA (617-988-4200).
Thank you in advance for your help, and for getting involved.
Sincerely,
Sam Yoon
Boston City Councilor At Large