The Codes of the Streets: Elijah Anderson's interpretation of violence

Beneath all the problems and chaos in poor inner city communities, there lies a code of rules. These rules govern violence and then controls it; The Codes of the Streets. The problems that are faced on a daily basis are put behind the true issue of interpersonal violence and aggression. It all adds up to alienation and a sense of hopelessness. The stigma of race, the jobs that barely make ends meet, the rampant use and trafficking of drugs, all spring and form violence. The environment is rough and places younger people in positions to be aggressive. The inner city residents say “decent” families are the one force that can stop negative aspects of the inner city. The “decent” family is strong, loving and committed to middle class values. The oppositional culture to that of the streets, is similar to mainstream society. Both cultures, street and decent, create an environment that the children must be able to handle themselves in. Most of the homes do reflect mainstream values, but the street-oriented environment counteracts it. The street culture has adapted to a set of informal rules called a code of the streets. It controls interpersonal public behavior such as violence. The code regulates violence and the people who use aggression to an extend that is oddly approved. The rules are enforced and established by the street-oriented. The decent and street both know the rules and understand the penalties when broken. Although the decent family is opposed to the codes, they still have their children become familiar with it. The heart of the code, is respect. The people who follow the codes want to be treated “right” or the respect they deserve. The inner city leaves people feeling like they can’t control certain forces, so the respect they deserve becomes uncertain. Respect is viewed by young people involved in the street culture “as an external entity that is hard-won but easily lost.” They must constantly be on guard to maintain the respect they fought for. The rules provide a base for negotiating respect. If a person has enough respect, one can be not “bother” in public. If he is bothered then it brings disrespect and he is then “dissed”. Maintaining eye contact for too long is an example of a diss and those actions are serious to people following the code. The traces can be connected to the alienation from mainstream society and the structures created by it. The codes are an adaptation to a lack of faith in systems. The police and the judicial system are the main organizations. The cliché that the police do not respond in the poorer parts in the city, is sadly true. It makes the residents feel as though they must defend themselves and their loved ones. They feel a distance from the rest of America. The decent families instill mainstream values in their children. They’re “working poor” and are generally better off financially then the street oriented. They also hold a value hard work and self-reliance. They’re willing to sacrifice for their children. They harbor hope for their children, they go to church, have interest in their kids schooling, and believe its all a test from God. Their church community provides support along with their faith. They’re well aware of the dangerous environment their children face and often are strict. Their children are encouraged to respect authority. The street parents on the other side, have a lack of consideration for other people. They give off a superficial sense of family. Its not that they do not love their children, rather they are unable to cope with the demands of parenthood, physically and emotionally. They believe in the code and judge not only other people but themselves according to its values. When street and decent kids come together, tensions build because the child understand they must choose an orientation. Children that develop a decency orientation after being from street orientated families usually learn those from another place. School, youth groups and churches can provide a caring adult role model.

Section 8 Housing

There are programs for people in need of housing all across the country. After looking at the website for "The Philadelphia Housing Authority", it was clear that a lot of people truly needed help. The other websites had waiting-lists that were years long, with thousands of families in need. The Philadelphia Housing Authority or PHA is not the only agency in Philadelphia that provides assistance for housing. It is the largest, but there are also community organizations, churches and civic groups that provide Housing Choice rental to low or moderate income people. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is federal assistance provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to sponsor subsidized housing for low-income families and people. Most people know it as Section 8. This comes from the portion of the U.S Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 under the original subsidy program. The United States Code, covers this type of program in Title 42, Chapter 8 Section 1437f. Federal housing assistance programs began during the Great Depressions to help the country’s housing crisis. The federal government created subsidy programs to increase the production of low income housing in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Housing authorities selected eligible families from their waiting list, and placed them in housing after determining the rent that the tenant would have to pay. The housing authority would then sign a leave with private landlords and pay the difference between the tenants rent and the market rate. This was under Section 23 Leased Housing Program amended the U.S Housing Act in 1961. The Section 8 program has tenants pay about 30 percent of their income for rent, and the rest is paid with feral money. The Section 8 program initially had three different subprograms. The New Construction, Substantial Rehabilitation, and Existing Housing Certificate programs. The Voucher Program was added in 1983 and the Project based Certificate program in 1991. The main Section 8 program involves the voucher program. A voucher, could be either project based, where its use is limited to a certain apartment complexes or tenant based, where the tenant is free to choose a unit. The private sector could be anywhere in the United States or Puerto Rick where a PHA operates a Section 8 program. The voucher program, has individual or families with a lease on a specified complex or a private sector pay only a portion of the rent, its usually based on income. Its no more than 30 percent of the persons income, with 40 percent being the maximum at time of lease up. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD will add income even if the tenant doesn’t receive interest income from something such as a bank account. They call this “imputed income from assets”, they calculated the imputed income from the asset, and in the case of a bank account they establish a stand “Passbook Savings Rate”. It makes the section 8 tenant contribute more since their gross income is made higher by HUD. The public housing agency pays the land landlord the remainder of the rent, based on the cap known as the “Fair Market Rent” or FMR. This is all determined by HUD. The FMR is determined by a couple factors. It could be the city or county, and where the unit is located. If the unit is in a metropolitan area it will have a higher FMR. The size of the unit, the number of bedrooms and if it’s a studio apartment it would generally have lower FMR. The last reason is if the tenant or owner pays for the utilities. The landlord is not allowed to charge the tenant more than FMR. Landlords are required to meet fair housing laws, but are not required to take part in Section 8 program. Some landlords do not want the government involved in their business, they might want to charge more than FMR, fear that their unit will not be maintained by the Section 8 tenants and even racial profiling. All of those factors are reasons landlords do not accept Section 8 tenants. Depending on the state laws, it could be illegal to deny a person rent because they have Section 8. Landlords can only use reasons such as credit, criminal history or any past evictions to not accept a tenant. The other side of landlords who do not want tenants using Section 8 housing, are the landlords who willingly accept. There is a large amount of applicants wanting to be potential renters. The payments are usually prompt coming from the tenant and PHA. Their unit will also be less likely to be damage because the tenant will be removed from the Section 8 Program if they damage the rental unit. While the programs help people, its obvious that they are just merely placing a band-aid on a gaping wound. It helps them for the time being but never addresses the issue that there are millions of people who can't afford to put a roof over their heads. The economic structure places people in a position where they are financially trapped. The years of reasons for poverty are difficult to fix, but need to be in order to truly help people. In terms of gentrification, many people are forced out by their lack of money and then require Section 8 Housing. Those areas were practically doomed but the people do not deserve to be removed from their homes and suddenly can't pay for necessities themselves. In my opinion, Section 8 is a symptom of Capitalism and appears to be beneficial for a short time span.