Throughout the years spent in public housing, I learned that not enough attention is given to the plights of publicly subsidized tenants despite their efforts get new jobs and move out. Imagine the situation in which a single mother with two children of young age is trying to provide for her family and working part-time job at the local fast food restaurant which pays minimal wage of $6.25 per hour. The real wage after tax for such an individual would be $750 for a 30-hour work week or $1000 for the 40-hour week. At the same time, the rent for the comparable place would be $700-$1000 per month, leaving no money for food or clothing, let alone children toys. Some situations in life of publicly subsidized tenants, such as single mothers, include the need to take care of the child or children which includes the costs of food and giving appropriate attention, as well as dealing with certain personal or child’s disabilities in some cases. Poor mothers are much more likely to have disabled children compared to wealthier families. I have seen many poor mothers with children who were sick or disabled who could not improve their lives due to having to care for their child. Other people in public housing were the elderly or retired, as well as some servicemen who experienced post-traumatic stress after …show more content…
During the economic downturns, the competition for available jobs was high which caused overqualified candidates to occupy lower-level jobs that become unavailable to persons looking to change their situation. On the other hand, many individuals and families were using the existing housing subsidy to maintain their status quo and not worry about giving up the subsidy. For many families, there was no external or internal motivation to improve the living conditions and housing situation. Another problem with government housing programs lies in the quality of living conditions for the qualified individuals. The maintenance and condition of the public housing has been far from acceptable. Some people in the public housing who were denied public housing after several years had to relocate to even more poor neighborhoods, where it led to the creation of the third