Community Service Requirement 'Unfair'

Public housing residents not in school or working will soon be required to give 8 hours of community service a month.

1 minute read

July 28, 2003, 6:00 AM PDT

By Connie Chung


"Some 370,000 residents of public housing will have to perform eight hours of community service each month to stay in their apartments under rules revived by the Bush administration." Community service could include anything from volunteering at an afterschool program or a homeless shelter. "The rule essentially targets those who are neither working nor in school, although it exempts people in job training programs and the elderly and disabled. About 80 percent of the 2 million adults in public housing would be exempt, HUD estimates....House Democrats and many local housing officials say the rule is unfair because those who receive other types of housing aid, such as vouchers for private rentals or mortgage interest deductions on income taxes, aren't bound by the same requirement." The rule is to be enforced by public housing agencies by Oct. 31, 2003.

Thanks to Connie Chung

Saturday, July 26, 2003 in The Boston Globe

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Historic homes in St. Augustine, Florida.

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs

Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

March 18, 2025 - Newsweek

Bird's eye view of manufactured home park.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing

Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

March 25, 2025 - Shelterforce

Aerial view of suburban housing near Las Vegas, Nevada.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands

The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

March 17, 2025 - The Wall Street Journal

Glass building with green tree behind it.

EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials

C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.

March 27 - Inside Climate News

White BART trains passing each other on elevated track in Fruitvale, California.

BART Closes $35 Million Deficit

Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.

March 27 - Mass Transit

Black hearse seen from behind driving on multilane road.

The New Parisian Hearse is a Bicycle

Sleek, silent, and sustainable, a green trip to the graveyard has hit the streets of the French capital.

March 27 - Momentum Magazine