Five New Amendments: Next Steps for Constitutional Change

 

A STUDY IN FAILURE

Alternative Living In Montana

Finally, I have the time, electricity, and access to the internet. This picture was taken early on in my giving up my Section 8 Home Choice Voucher. The days were still hot, and nights warm, although this night the wind blew something fierce and I was afraid my tent was going to blow away. The folks camping to the right of me, came over in the morning to check on me, see if I was ok.  I thought that was really nice of them, after all, we never saw each other before.

Funny, never once in all my time using a Section 8 Voucher did any neighbor come and check on me, or the on-site manager when they knew I was ill, little alone when the wind blew all night. Heck most of them got upset if I reported repairs that needed to be made.

The above picture is what my tent looked like, unfortunately when I started to take the shade tent down, the wind caught it and smashed it into a tree. It didn't quite wrap around the tree, but it sure looked like it got ran over or something. I sure am going to miss it, as when the wind blew, and I mean blew hard (35 to 40 miles an hour or more) it kept the tent from doing the bobblehead dance. I did save the top cover, as it will go over the tent nicely, to give it some added warmth, and protection from wet weather.

I started living in my tent on August 26, 2020. I thought I would be able to find work and gradually some up the money to get into a new place without Government assistance. Well, that is not how things are working out, as it is now October 12, 2020, and I am still looking for work, and there is not a single one-bedroom or studio unit in the entire state in my budget that does not have at least 25 or more people applying for.

Most of the low-income apartments now have a three to four-year waiting "list, apartments that aren't even completely built have a waiting list a mile long. Shelters are full, and those that aren't I don't qualify for because my domestic violence threats were so long ago in the past.

Every room for rent in town (Helena) has been taken, and I am looking for work and housing in every area I think I would like to live in. The problem, well there just aren't any low-income rental units to be had, even in Northern Montana, most have been rented.

There are at least 1,357 (as reported in January 2019), people experiencing homelessness on any given day. Why that is more people than the population of some of our smaller towns in Montana. What I don't understand, is why there are so many empty office buildings that could be used to house the homeless during the pandemic or to be turned into low-income housing, yet they too sit and rot waiting for the next commercial, Real Estate Tycoon to snatch them up.

There are more Duplexes, Condos, Townhouses, and very large homes with vaulted ceilings of 15 feet of nothing but air till it hits the floor going up, and fewer and fewer average size homes that the working people can afford. Prices are so over-inflated, and you are forced to buy more acreage than you know what to do with.

The little starter home of two bedrooms, one bathroom, living room, kitchen, and maybe an office and/or full basement with the little picket fence around 1,200 square feet no longer exists. Such a shame because I can not see someone my age living in a five-bedroom monstrosity just because I could afford it, but that is what it is all about now.

Montana Department of Commerce Housing Division has failed Montana low-income tenants for over 30 years, never really paying attention to the condition of apartment buildings, or what landlords do or do not do leading us to the deplorable shortage in housing and housing that is decent, healthy, and safe.

I worry about living in my tent, or the back of my truck this winter. But apparently, you can sleep in a car until it gets 30 below zero, then it is pretty dangerous, you most likely won't make it through the night. I can tell you though living in my tent instead of Government housing, I have no bug bites, my clothes smell better, and the best part money in the bank at the end of the month.

Montana Department of Commerce Housing Divisions programs all need to be audited. If they made one error in the amount of $750, there are surely more. No one wants to listen, no one cares, well ok then it is your tax dollars that are being wasted on these buildings that catch fire in the middle of the night because of poor wiring, or someone sleeping on the sofa in the ally and drops a cigarette. But why should you care? You got money to burn, right?

SECTION 8 VOUCHER OR ALTERNATIVE LIVING

 At the start of the pandemic, I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay at my eldest daughter's home before they shut the schools down. This made me very happy as I was stuck renting; with the help of a Home Choice Section 8 voucher,  a basement apartment that smelled of mold and mildew that permeated every soft surface. Though the windows were large, and deceivingly offered lots of light, that was blocked by the other building in the complex and the large, dying, overburdened branches of the ancient cottonwood trees, I rarely had the curtains open.
Shortly after arriving at my eldest daughter's home, my youngest daughter and her children came for a visit, a week after they closed the schools. She has two-grade school-age children she was trying to teach, running her full time cleaning business and run the house all on her own. I took it upon myself, without asking of course, and returned to Northern Montana to help her.

I had been talking about living in a van for about two years at this point, as I work a part-time, seasonal job, but had to give it up because the cost of working that job and utilizing a Home Choice Section 8 Voucher was too burdensome.  I could not meet the 20 hours a week calculation that was used to calculate my rent, so I ended up paying out money that I never earned.

It was also during that time I discovered that the Housing Authority had miscalculated the EID credit I should have received, which meant that I had paid out seven hundred fifty dollars more than I should have over the past year. Instead of returning the overage to me, they gave the money as a credit to the Landlord of my building on my account. I could have used the overage as a deposit on a different apartment but was not given that opportunity.

I had expressed great displeasure of the condition and continued issues with the apartment from the time I signed the lease during the 2018 Government shut-down. With the choice of finding a place to live or lose the voucher (the Housing Authority was not giving any extensions), the lease was signed in the middle of winter. The availability of acceptable one-bedroom apartments was realistically some time in the future.

I was already tired of the continued mistakes made by the Montana Department of Commerce Housing Division. I had advocated against them over many issues that low-income tenants endure at the HUD level, and caught many mistakes over the years. I made the decision that I would turn my voucher back in at the start of summer, and live in my tent until the first snow.

 I justified this decision as things were going to get bad and ugly with this pandemic, and I have my two girls to rely on for help. I was renting a two-bedroom apartment when there are families with small children wandering the streets at night looking for a safe place to stay.

Morally it was not right for me to hold on to that voucher when the apartment I was renting was too big for me, and I was miserable there even though I fully understood there are those who are sleeping in the park, how could I be so ungrateful?

A few days later I called the state again and asked to be removed from the SNAP program. They offered me $16 a month, and I refused this, unfortunately giving a sarcastic reply. Sorry about that. Now being shed of all Government assistance, unless you are going to count the Social Security Disability check that I paid into the program and still do when I can find work, I needed to find an alternative way to house myself.

My youngest daughter found a job in a different town and has moved there. I remain here, in Northern Montana, to finish packing her home. She will be staying with someone until she finds shelter for her and the children. This will be a task all of its own as housing is hard to come by there, and the price of rents are ridiculously high. 

My oldest daughter has a very lovely home, yet I am not certain if I should stay there. We have different lifestyles, and I am told that my expectation of others may be out-of-line with reality. I have promised, to work on that. So I am looking at living in the back of my little 1994 Toyota pickup. The sleeping arrangement is off a little, but it is quite comfortable for my back.

I also have a couple of tents, and there is a lot of dispersed camping and a few year-round campgrounds that I can stay in. My original plan was to travel around Montana for the next year, visiting all the places I had been as a kid, and other places here in Montana that I have not taken the time to visit.

Image by: David Mark from Pixabay: Lake McDonald, Montana (Got-a great fishing story from childhood here.)

I was also going to use the unrestricted time to write my "great American novel" to contribute to the literary world in a different way than I already have. Covid-19 has made me alter this plan, and the van,

well even though one was given to me, I'm not sure if I have the finances to put it back on the road. That's ok, because I discovered that I really don't like driving a flat-nosed van, I can't see if I am too close to something.

"Her Social Security benefits each month were only $499..." 

Many people across the nation are choosing to live like this as it is far too expensive to rent, or to buy a home. It also looks like the workforce is shifting to remote positions, so why should anyone be tethered to one spot when there is so much to see and do in our own back yards?

This is the time to reinvent yourself and your lives to be what you need them to be so that you can actually enjoy your life. Wouldn't you agree?  I have chosen to look at this time as a re-birthing of my life. No life can be ushered forth without some degree of pain and uncertainty. I learned that giving birth.

Are you struggling to make a change? I have been, mostly out of financial fear, too afraid to invest in myself as it might be a bad investment you might say. It was then that I realized that if I didn't give back all the help from the government, step out on my own and really live within my means things were never going to change for me.

I lived in a crummy apartment that really would be no better than living in a campground, except I would not have to share private information about myself and be forced to spend my money on something I viewed as a waste of tax-payer dollars.

Since housing codes, policies and regulations were not being enforced anywhere, why should I continue to throw my hard-earned money, and other tax-payer money at a public eyesore that is only going to grow and become more of a problem to handle in the future?

I am appalled at my participation in this housing scam. I can no longer participate in government housing as it is set up to imprison or to break the recipient into a lifestyle that no one strives for, yet succumb to as a desperate cry for help.

I would never be one of those success stories for the Department of Commerce Housing Division, only a thorn in their side. The condition of the low-income subsidized apartments in Helena, Montana are just deplorable. Every building had a flight of stairs ranging from fifteen to seven steps, and I could barely walk, yet no ground floor apartments were to be found. I hate to think if I had been in a wheelchair and these State Agency ran Apartment buildings would not be able to house me because they are not ADA accessible, this in Montana's capital city of all places!

What are the challenges you face in finding rental housing in the state of Montana?

I want to hear from you, leave a comment below. You are not the only one who has issues with Montana HUD Housing, or for that matter Montana Landlords. Now is the time to speak up, initiate the changes needed to preserve affordable housing. Now is the time to demand that the Landlords be held responsible for cleaning their heating vents, mold, asbestos, and lead paint removed. It is time that the outlets placed in these buildings in 1953, be replaced with modern outlets and wiring that is manufactured to handle the higher level of usage appliances now demand.

Wait, who am I kidding. I have been out here since I was seventeen trying to change things and yet very little has changed. I have looked for other tenants out here in Montana that want change and are willing to speak up and make the change happen, yet in all this time very few stood up, and even fewer stood past the correction of their issue.

Tomorrow your neighbor may be evicted because their unemployment has run out, or their SSI, SSDI check did not come in the mail, are you going to hang your head and watch out of the corner of your eye as they load up their belongings and head to "God knows where"?

Take action, Call Senator Daines, Senator Tester, any politician you have a relationship with and tell them Montana needs to clean up the low-income rentals, the ones that are held by corporations, individuals, and the state housing authority agencies as well.

We need code enforcement to actually enforce building codes before low-income apartment buildings, or those that have not been maintained over time start to burn down around the tenants' ears.

Well, I guess it really doesn't matter, after all, I gave up and walked away from Government Help, so why should I care? Because my tax dollars are given to slum lords under the pretense of sanitary housing at an affordable price.

RENTAL HOUSING AND OTHER SCAMS DURING COVID-19

In this post, I hope to bring to light just a few of the rental scams that are taking place during the COVID virus. Low-Income, Government, Affordable, or Workforce housing (whatever name they are running it under now) is littered with scams from the private property managing companies, the landlord(s), to the government housing agencies designed to protect and help the financially challenged to obtain sanitary, up-to-code, reasonable priced shelter allowing all the conveniences of electricity, running water, heat in the winter and free of vermin, and other health risks.

They want the windows to be of a size that a full-grown adult can crawl through in case of a fire, and can be reached from the floor. There are to be doors that lock, windows that prevent the weather from coming in, adequate hot water, and heat. This is all to be provided when you rent, plus the environment is to be free of health and physical bodily risk of injury.

Many of the apartments, and houses, that I have rented on and off of the Home Choice Section 8 Voucher program have rarely met all of these simple criteria. I have rented a duplex, the entire two-story duplex for two years until I realized that the house shook every time a train came through town. The train tracks were half a mile from the house. One month after leaving the house, the current tenant told me that the upstairs toilet fell into the basement. No wonder the house shook, yet I paid rent for two years faithfully.

I rented a trailer house in Southwestern Montana, only to have the Landlord enter and exit the home as he felt, make passes at me, and try to control who my visitors were. When I reported this to the local police department, they would not do anything, housing only gave him a slap on the wrist and I got my deposit back. Overlooking the fact that I was forced to help complete repairs such as replacing the sceptic tank, snow plowing during the winter when he was not on the property, tearing up an old deck, cleaning out past tenants debris from the shed I was paying rent on. I won't mention the fact that I did not have a working bathroom or kitchen that month, and driving to a gas station two miles away to utilize the toilet was not the best option.

I have had to fight to correct a mathematical error made by the Montana Department of Commerce, Housing Division that cost me seven hundred and fifty dollars, instead of returning the money to me, they had the property management put a credit on the books for me, forcing me to remain in an apartment with broken sewer lines under the concrete floor, with a smell so putrid that it permeated my clothing and still after four months of sitting in boxes in a shed, smell of mold, mildew and something else remains, despite the year and five months of washing before being put in a box. I moved from this apartment at the beginning of the Covid-19 Montana Stay at Home Order.

I was forced into that, Montana Department of Commerce, Housing Division Inspected twice and approved apartment during the 2019 Government Shut Down in January of 2020 (one of the coldest months of winter in Montana). Many rental units are placed on Craigslist, many of the pictures you see may or may not say a picture is of a similar unit. Do not trust the pictures, your unit may not be pictured as it may not be cleaned properly, or have had repairs made that were required from the previous occupancy. 

The Housing Inspector will overlook some things as it is difficult to find a unit that meets the criteria in every way. Housing Inspectors believe they are doing the right thing so families can find homes. This is untrue as it only encourages bad landlords to allow their properties to rot down around the tenant's ears. Ask for all maintenance reports covering two years, ask for the former tenant's name so you can call and check the property manager's references as well as the owners. Run a background check on those companies and owners to find anything that they may neglect to tell you not only about their business practices, but if they are the types of individuals you want to pay your money too.

They run background checks on tenants in order to protect their investment, well you are handing over your dollars to supply the means to keep the property up so make sure your money is being used properly. Landlords blame the tenants, tenants blame the landlords and property management companies. I blame code enforcement and housing inspectors, the buck is to stop at them as they are there to make sure the unit is habitable and worth the amount of money required to rent the place. If it does not meet standards, it should be turned into code enforcement and not allowed to be rented until the landlord complies.

Code enforcement should not allow buildings with outdated electrical and plumbing continued to be rented. The landlords will never update these items, nor clean heating ducts, furnaces, air conditioners until they are forced to comply with the codes and stop splitting hairs in the courts where most tenants can not afford to bring their complaint.

New Normal Includes Homelessness

Is this the new normal for the majority of American's?

Homeless During Covid

Who is America Great For?

Working Poor

One perspective of what is becoming of America's working poor

Have You Ever Wondered What Normal Wear and Tear Means?

Normal vs. Excessive Damage
Normal Wear & Tear:
Landlord's Responsibility Excessive Tenant Damage:
Resident's Responsibility
A few small nail holes, chips, smudges, dents, scrapes, or cracks in the walls Gaping holes in walls from abuse, accidents, or neglect. Unapproved paint colors or unprofessional paint jobs. Dozens of nail holes which need patching and repainting.
Faded paint Water damage on wall from hanging plants or constant rubbing of furniture
Slightly torn or faded wallpaper Unapproved wall paper, drawings, or crayon markings on walls
Carpet faded or worn thin from walking Holes, stains, or burns in carpet. Food stains, urine stains, and leaky fish tanks are never "normal".
Dirty or faded lamp or window shades Torn, stained, or missing lamp and window shades
Scuffed varnish on wood floors from regular use Chipped or gouged wood floors, or excessive scraps from pet nails
Dark patches on hardwood floors that have lost their finish over many years Water stains on wood floors and windowsills caused by windows being left open during rainstorms
Doors sticking from humidity Doors broken, or ripped off hinges
Warped cabinet doors that won’t close Sticky cabinets and interiors
Cracked window pane from faulty foundation or building settling Broken windows from action of the tenant or guests
Shower mold due to lack of proper ventilation Shower mold due to lack of regular cleanings
Loose grouting and bathroom tiles Missing or cracked bathroom tiles
Worn or scratched enamel in old bathtubs, sinks, or toilets Chipped and broken enamel in bathtubs and sinks
Rusty shower rod or worn varnish on plumbing fixtures Missing or bent shower rod or plumbing fixtures
Partially clogged sinks or drains caused by aging pipes Clogged sinks or drains due to any stoppage (hair, diapers, food, etc.), or improper use
Moderately dirty mini-blinds or curtains Missing or broken mini-blinds or curtain
Bathroom mirror beginning to “de-silver” (black spots) Mirrors caked with lipstick and makeup
Broken clothes dryer because the thermostat has given out Dryer that won’t turn at all because it’s been overloaded, or the lint trap was never cleaned out.
Worn gaskets on refrigerator doors Broken refrigerator shelf or dented front panels
Smelly garbage disposal Damaged disposal due to metal, glass, or stones being placed inside
Replacement of fluorescent lamps - or any light bulb designed to last for years of continuous use


HUD has a list (Appendix 5D) of various items, and their life expectancy:

Item Life Expectancy
Hot Water Heaters 10 years
Plush Carpeting 5 years
Air Conditioning Units 10 years
Ranges 20 years
Refrigerators 10 years
Interior Painting - Enamel 5 years
Interior Painting – Flat 3 years
Tiles/Linoleum 5 years
Window shades, screens, blinds 3 years (https://www.landlordology.com/normal-wear-and-tear/)

MONTANA SOCIAL DISTANCING IS A WAY OF LIFE

Automatic Blog Ping
I am so grateful I live in Montana, though we have a few cases of COVID-19, we are fortunate enough to have the ability to get outside and breath the fresh air, take in the sunshine and wash all the stagnant air out of our homes and lungs.

Social Distancing at it's best in Montana.

My daughter invited me out to their place before they shut down the schools here in Montana. If she hadn't I know I would not have felt comfortable going outside and I would be scrubbing down every wall, surface, nook and cranny with a toothbrush and straight Lysol cleaner.

Our Management Company issued a rather strongly worded letter about their expectations of the tenants during this time. I can understand the concern for their maintenance people and the need for them to be able to pay those people and others who work for the company.

I would like to take the opportunity to let Landlords know that just because this virus started halfway around the world, some of the deplorable buildings that you continue to rent out with broken sewer lines, uncleaned units before moving new people in, painting over the muck left behind by former tenants all can lead to a virus here in America.

The need to follow proper codes, procedures, and maintenance on buildings is paramount to stopping the spread of many types of health issues. We have Building codes in place for a reason, to protect those who live, work, and play within them.

If we continue to look the other way on these issues just because there are limited units available for our nations low-income, working, elderly, vets, and families we are inviting another health crisis for our most vulnerable populations who have no choice but to continue working unless they find themselves in the hospital or the grave just to meet their rent obligations.

WHAT DID TRUMP DO TO YOU?

I was asked today "What did Trump do to you?. My reply was he made it unaffordable for me to get a job.

Now, I ask you does that sound like something an American President who touts job creation would do? The answer my friend is not blowing in the wind, but YES!

Thanks to the HUD Secretary Ben Carson and his rules to take more than 30% of personal income, and forcing people to take jobs that actually end up costing them money because the rent went p due to the increase in income. If you can not work the whole 20 or 40 hours of that job, it does not matter because you will be forced to pay out on those hours you could not work, but HUD thinks you can.

It does not matter if you work full-time or part-time, it will cost you money in the long run, the money you won't have even if you go to work.

If I were to work my usual seasonal, part-time job, which is supposed to be 20 hours, but due to a herniated disk, fibromyalgia and some other stuff, I am not capable physically to always work 20 hours. I have tried my best, laying on the floor, standing up at my desk and still dialing that phone. I still have to pay out on those hours I did not work the 30%. If I work 14 hours, I payout for 20, if I can only work 9 hours that week, I payout on 20 hours.

All income is figured as if you will work the entire year. If you only work six months out of the year, they average your gross income for 12 months and you pay 30% of that you don't even have to work the hours, but you will be required to pay for them. It costs me $300 a month out of my fixed income to work that 20 hour a week job, plus everything but $20 a month from that job to pay the increase.

I don't mind paying my fair share, but that is just it. It needs to be fair. If I am going to pay out over $500 a month for rent, then I better be able to wash my clothes in clean water and not sewage water backing up into the washer. I should be able to open and close my front door without having to lift it up into and out of the casing, causing damage to my rotator cuff.

HUD does not enforce their own rules, Montana State HUD inspectors overlook issues because there is no low-income housing, Montana slum lords continue to let perfectly good buildings (if taken care of) to rot down around tenants ears because no one is holding them accountable.

What good are city codes when no one enforces them when businessmen pass off these public housing buildings three months before HUD tells them to start repairs so they don't have to repair them and the next businessman in the ladder can milk the rentals for a while until he has to pass it off before being required to make repairs?

As I type this, there is a cracked sewer line under my apartment. When the furnace kicks on and the temperature is just right, I think I am standing by the outhouse on a hot summer day. Fond memories, I think not!

They tell me if you can't afford it don't do it. Well someone should tell the slumlord the same thing or make him fix his buildings.

Trump made it impossible for me to get work, and have enough money after paying all the bills and rent left over to eat, buy a tank of gas or even buy new underwear. What did Trump do to me?

  

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL ONE YA-WHO'S OPINION

theconversation.com

"That's right, just another idiot with their own interpretation on the impeachment of the President of "these Divided  States"."

 I have tried my best to keep my mouth shut during the political upheaval of America, but I am so afraid and disappointed in the way the country is going that I can no longer keep my opinion to myself. "As if it matters!"  I understand that my little, opinion does not matter as it does not influence anyone to change their mind, take action, or even give a crap. Yet it is my first amendment right, so I am taking the opportunity to exercise it.

From the very beginning, I stood out here in the abyss shouting "The Emperor has no clothes", but no one noticed. I went and protested when Mr. Trump ( he is not my president, I did not vote for him) arrived in Great Falls, Montana for his July 5th rally.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/donald-trump-mental-health-754139/

I question whether the Trump Administration has a clue of what they are doing, suppose to do, or are required to do? His camp seems to talk out of both sides of their mouths and then deny they spoke in the first place. I was taught as a child that "Honesty is the Best Policy". Isn't that what the First Lady's campaign is all about, "Be Best" for the emotional and social health of children? I thought the President would be an example of "how to act" not "how not to act" for his own wife's reputation.

Is this Trump's best? the best attempt at duping the American people? or truly and honestly the best he can run the country into the ground? There may already be irreversible collateral damage caused by the folks he put into temporary positions or had to leave their offices due to a conflict of moral ethics. Are we really going to be stupid enough to ask for another four years of lies, deceit, double standards, when the president is taking his own government to court for billions of dollars in damages? (Credit: revistanordeste.com.br/) Should this be a telltale sign to the American Public that Mr. Trump can not live up to the requirements of the position of President of the "United" States"?

 I have been assaulted on three jobs, much less important than the Presidency, yet I did not have a case for pain and suffering, why should he when the job he choose to apply for came with a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

I can't wait for the State of the Union Address, it should be one of a kind. Personally, I would like to see Trump step down from office. Yet, I am nobody, just another Ya-who with an opinion.

Section 8 Home Choice Inspection Texas and Apartment Inspected by Helena Housing Authority

Paying for the Privalage to Cause More Damage to My Herniated Disc, Only in Montana

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPsjmFZRu9lvpKMtW4tQ0ozzKDkbMpGt7OnEJ5eGtlB_tjc3CLTEObIQ5M9ly4KtQ?key=R1NxOE5sTEh2elFfUUhyTWpsaFI1ZDRyWWxid0pn

823 N. Davis St, Helena, MT. January 10, 2020, 11:40 am. Door reported on Dec. 17, 2019

How long is a reasonable time to repair a door that is pulling away from the door cassing where it is attached by the hinges? Is it reasonable to expect a person with a chronic pain disorder, a herniated disk to lift the door in and out of the cassing just to enter and exit the property? Is this acceptable by HUD? Is this how our tax payer dollars are being spent? Allowing Landlords to ignor repairs that can be physically damaging to the tenant is not acceptable.

Where do you report these types of Landlords in Montana? No where, because there is no money in forcing the Landlord to repair his building (s). The attitude is if you don't like it move.

How can you move when the State of Montana Housing Division misscalculated your rent. You over paid your portion while Montana allowed you to. Upon discovering the error, Montana Housing will repay the portion you overpaid to the Landlord. Never mind the $750 you covered for Montana Housing's lack of ability in calculating rent should have been returned to the Tenant so that she could use it to move out of said apartment. No, that would be logical and reasonable. Montana Housing is not.

Who's Mean's Are Livable

President Scott Sales, R-Bozeman stated to the Great Falls Tribune in a May 1, 2019 article "We have to get back to the point where we live within our means to some degree."

It is here you as the reader will look at the means that I have to live within. From this exercise maybe some of you will have a better understanding of how important, Affordable, WorkForce, Low-Income or Government Subsidized housing is. Not only that may you also come to understand that living with Government Subsidies is no walk in the park, especially under this administration.

In order for me to live within my means, I must work only with the amount I receive from Social Security Disability, as I can only work 12 hours a week now. I don't know of an employer who has those kinds of hours to offer. So we have our $851 in hand and are ready to go out and get a place to live on our own, without government help or in a government-subsidized building. This means we will be looking at the real rental price and all the other bills that go along with it.

"The median monthly gross residential rent in Montana was $759 in 2017 according to the Census ACS survey.¹ Average gross rent was $772 in 2017. The median rent more accurately depicts rental rates in the middle of the distribution of rents and is thus preferred in the analysis below. 2018 Montana median and average rent data will be released in September of 2019."

Now, in 2017 the average gross rent was $772 a month of a one-bedroom apartment, $851-772=$79 left to pay utilities, auto insurance, food (as we can not use SNAP, we must live within our means), gas for the auto, phone service, doctor's visits, prescriptions, toiletries, and to feed our service animal. No cable tv, or internet, eating out, going to the movies, or even for a drive. $79 is not going to go very far, even in Montana where you don't have to have cash every day to ride a bus or park your car.

This scenario tells me I need to look for a lower-cost place to live as it is my biggest expenditure. So let's take a look at alternative living arrangements that can be done with $851 a month without breaking the bank.

To share an apartment with someone who has rented a place at $772 a month, we would have to pay half of that plus half of the utilities, Rent: $386 a month, lets say utilities run $100 a month, so we add $50 to the rent of $386 and we get $436 over half of my income so we know that is not going to work either.

Let's see what the math would be to live in a motel with monthly rates, the only one available is in Butte, that is a 68 mile drive, so we need to factor in the cost of gas to get there: 68 miles x $2.75 a gallon of gas= $19 or about 7 gallons of gas if we get 10 miles per gallon. Now the room for a month in Butte will be $119 a night for 31 nights plus $19 in gas to get there = $3,708 total just for housing a month. Well, that will never do.

Our next option is to look at campgrounds and sleep in our vehicle. Now in the state of Montana, there is plenty of places you can pull over and stay for free without having to be in the city limits, or you can stay at Walmart for the night for free and have sketchy things take place under the cover of darkness. These two choices fit our budget, but they do not allow for bathroom usage, we will need to haul water so we can clean and cook for ourselves.

To stay in an established campground for a night can cost you anywhere from $14 General to $7 a night if you are disabled and a senior, this cost is without electricity, and for a rustic site is $6 dollars a night for senior and disabled residents of Montana, $12 General. You are only allowed to stay 14 days in a campground, so we will have to move to another in two weeks. We want to get by as cheaply as possible, so we will take a rustic site at $6 a night (we won't factor in the gas this time as it will be less than $5 to move to a campground down the way). $6 x 31 nights stay =$186 for 31 days.

$851 monthly income - $186 monthly camping fees = $665 left to pay auto insurance, food, toiletries, gas, phone, groceries, doctors, prescriptions. Hmmmmm, it seems to me that this is well within my means.

Well, you can't camp in the winter! It's too cold! Waite a minute, it wouldn't be too cold if I had a portable electric car heater for the interior of the vehicle, no CO2 emissions as it runs off the cigarette lighter, there are more sweaters I can put on as well as build a fire, or drive into town and visit friends, family, walk around shopping centers, or go to the library during the day.

In this article, I hope that I have shown you what it means to live within my means. I would love to live this way for a year just to be able to save some money for a rainy day, but alas if you choose to live this way you can expect to have unwanted visitors thinking you are of the wrong element, need to receive mental health services  or should be run out of town before other's think they can do the same thing.

Some of the homeless are not really homeless, as they have chosen to live within their means and not put up with all the negative connotations about taking from Uncle Sam, using so-called "Entitlement" programs that actually control how much money you can make, save, and get yourself out of poverty. 

CALCULATING MY RENT

"A budget should be a reflection of our values," Steve Bullock said on May 1, 2019, for an article written by Phil Drake of the Great Falls Tribune. Unfortunately, HUD does not project such an attitude about what a budget should reflect. In this article, I will be sharing my current experience with the Montana Board of Housing HUD Home Choice Voucher Section 8 program, and how the 2019 HUD budget has impacted my life.

I will be using real numbers here, not made up ones, the numbers that the Social Security Administration and the IRS have for me. This will not be a smoke and mirror type demonstration, but one based on my perception of the facts in this situation.

“We’re in the midst of this housing crisis and Trump wants to walk away from America’s commitment to housing and increase rents on poor families.” Sarah Mickelson of the National Low Income Housing Coalition stated in an article with thinkprogress.org.

I currently receive $851 on Social Security Disability, before you start making judgments, I worked all my life. I paid into the system, and have continued to pay into the system even while on disability. Not all of us are takers. I also receive $102 in Snap Benefits, a Section 8 Home Choice Voucher (I am supposed to pay 30% of my gross income for rent) and HUD pays the 70%  I can not afford. Last December, I was fortunate to have a job that paid $9.50 an hour. Even though I could not work 20 hours a week consistently, those hours were used to calculate my gross income from that job.

Let us do the calculation for the earned income, the $9.50 for 20 hours a week comes to $760 gross a month. Now we multiply $760 by 12, even though I only could work that job for six months out of the year, as it is based on seasonal activity, $9,120 gross a year plus the gross yearly SSDI $10, 212 comes to $19,332 total monies.

METHOD 1

TOTAL PROJECTED YEARLY INCOME

Using the yearly incomes calculated above, Earned Income at $9,120 gross from a seasonal, part-time, six months long job, and the SSDI, which no taxes are required to be paid from, $10,212 gross.

$760 earned income + $851 SSDI = $1,611 x 12 months= $19, 332 yearly income with seasonal (6 months, part-time, contracted 20 hrs a week, inconsisten in meeting required hours) work.

$851 x 12 months = $10,212 yearly income SSDI Only

ADJUSTABLE INCOME

Allowable Deduction yearly Disabled: $400   

SSDI + EARNED INCOME

$19,332-$400 disabled deduction= $18,932 adjusted yearly unearned income x 30%= $5,679 (30% of income) available to pay rent/12 = Total Tenant Payment $473 30% of monthly income for rent. 

I actually paid $551 per month while working that $9.50, 20 hours a week, part-time, seasonal job, that I could not meet 20 hours a week consistently during that six month period. 

SSDI ALONE

$10,212 - $400 disabled deduction = $9,812 adjusted yearly income x 30%= $2,943 (30% of SSDI) available to pay rent/12= Total Tenant Payment of $245 30% of monthly income for rent.

I actually pay $292 per month from just my SSDI, as I am no longer working that part-time, seasonal position. I am told that is because the rent is $47 above the allowed amount, yet when working it is an overage of $78 a month.

METHOD 2 ANTICIPATED INCOME

PHA (Housing Authority) uses all known sources of income- PHA's are required to use and verify income through the EIV (Enterprise Income Verification) system. 

We see in my personal examples, using my income come that I have overpaid rent while working, and when not working as there seems to be a mathematical error in the amounts I arrived at compared to the Montana Department of Commerce Housing Division claims I am and was to pay for rent. They continue to not send confirmation by a Family Summary Report required by HUD to me stating what numbers they used to calculate my rents.

After meeting with Helena Housing Authority on August 27, 2019, it was confirmed that I had not been allowed the EID. HRDC in Bozeman did not transfer over the EID when I moved to Helena. and since they made the error of not allowing me the EID, Helena used the wrong information to calculate the rent I was to pay. My earned income should have been divided in half as the EID allows for a 50% disallowance of this income for a total of 24 months, the preceding 24 months are disallowed at 100%.  The EID can only be used once in a lifetime, and for an accumulation of 48 months total. There will be more information in another article on the Earned Income Disallowance.

YOUR VOTE COULD SAVE LOW-INCOME HOUSING

“There are only 52 affordable homes for every 100 extremely low-income renters according to an analysis by the National Low-Income HousingCoalition. Montana would need to see an additional 16,467 housing units to make up for this shortfall⁠.[6] “, Quoted from the Montana Budget website back in 2016. Have we even come close to meeting even a thousand of those units? Maybe some of the poor can bunk in the barn with the cattle after all didn't the Trump Administration want all the cattlemen to calculate the amount of poop their animals contribute to the greenhouse gas problem?

Are we going to pay the low-income Disabled and Seniors for this job, or is the roof over their heads enough to demand they should just be grateful? Where are the contractors who are willing to put the all-mighty-dollar aside and give back to the people of this state that not only put bread on his table but the table of those who work for him? Are there any good Samaritans left in this arena or have they all been blinded by the bottom line?

Does it even matter that the most a vulnerable population is still facing a housing crisis? I am not sure it really does when HUD faces an 18% reduction in the https://www.montanabudget.org/post/2020-president-trump-budget 2019/2020 Presidential budget. In this budget, the president's request would eliminate 140,000 Home Choice Voucher's nationwide. All housing programs will be effected, $3.2 billion of those housing costs will become the responsibility of Seniors, Disabled, Working poor families who can not meet the demands of keeping up with the out-of-reach necessities while being forced to maintain luxury items like the internet to be able to update their information.

With the work requirements being attached to the supplementation of government funds the poor need, we still do not have enough affordable units for these people to move into. The cost of renting has become so far out of reach many of Montana's low-income people are considering living in camp trailers, or out of their vehicles as it is the only way they can afford, medical, food, and clothing just to be able to go to any job they are able to secure for themselves.

Working for $9.50 an hour at my temporary, seasonal job for six months out of the year, I was flabbergasted to learn that I needed to make sure that I worked 20 hours every week as my rent was based on the increase in income this job would have given me plus my social security disability benefit that I worked for over twenty-seven years. Thirty percent of this gross income goes to my landlord. What is the incentive for a person like me, who has a physical disability, as well as mental, am older, have managed to secure a temporary job not qualify for any of the work incentive programs that would allow the money I make be uncountable? Just because the state or some the county agency isn't getting paid to train me, or because my employer is the State, I do not qualify for any of the work requirement job training or placement programs.

I will no longer be able to work that $9.50 an hour job this winter, as I have been limited to 12 hours a week and no more than four hours a day at a desk job. It looks like this blog and whatever else I can find that might make income for me is the only choice I have. Now how will that affect my housing you ask? Your guess is as good as mine.

If things keep going the way they are in Washington, D.C. you will probably be able to find me at a local McDonald's, as I will be living out of my vehicle, and that will be where I can utilize the internet most often.

I hope that will not be true, but as the parade of mistakes, broken promises and injustices are trotted out in public once more this coming election year, let us remember They have not finished the job they started in 2016!

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/usa-vote-election-political-voting-1327119/

Let’s vote for those who can actually put a program together and finish it so that those in the present are left hanging and those in the near future continue to face uncertainty.

We can not continue to pretend that the housing crisis has been dealt with when so many people face the possibility of losing their housing because the United States Government has better use for those appropriated funds, and besides the majority of the population believes this will root out some of those who are illegally on these programs.

Do not forget that some of us who play by the rules will be squeezed out as well, just because we either fall in the age group where we should be able to train for another job or because the amount we receive in benefits is so nominal that it shouldn’t matter anyway.

You try and live off eight hundred dollars a month, find a job that is only 12 hours a week and would pay enough to warrant going there when everyone is taking their cut off the top of your total gross income regardless of who else has their fingers in your pockets. I just wish the pickpocket was a  homeless child than the United States Government.

QUESTIONS ABOUT HUD AND 24 CFR 5.609

Sometimes I can't help ask the question, especially when it takes everything I made from a part-time, temporary job, plus one thousand dollars in savings to pay the rent and get groceries. If I did not have the money in savings, I would not have been able to pay my rent for the month of June 2019. Why you ask?

Well, to tell you the truth I can not explain what happened. After all, I reported that my temporary, part-time, seasonal job with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks would be ending May 24, 2019, on May 14, 2019, to the Montana HCV counselor that was assigned to me when I moved here, to the Capital City, Helena.

I was disappointed when the paperwork for the reduction in rent was not handled until June 24, 2019, which forced me to pay from income that I did not receive for half of May and for the entire month of June. I was told this was based on their need to turn the paperwork in by the 19th of the month, and I did not quit working until the 19th of May. Be that as it may, I turned in my end of employment in time for the Housing Authority to have gotten the correct paperwork to me in a timely manner.  I informed them through email and did not hear anything back from them until I called to find out what my rent would be for the month of June.

I was quite upset when I found out that I would have to continue to pay 30% from income that I was no longer receiving. I have tried to have the Housing Authority explain to me why this is? Why do I not qualify for the EID? Why medical bills that I now owe on were not taking into consideration when recalculating my income? I believe my income should have been disallowed under the 24 CFR 5.609 which speaks of income derived from a 12 month period. HUD has a special calculation they are to use for part-time work, which is generally also calculated for a 12 month period, you need to ask for recertification of income when you only work six months out of the year, or when you stop working.

Because I am disabled, I believe I should have at least qualified for the Earned Income Disallowance for Disabled Tenants, as I have used this benefit in the past two years, as I worked my part-time seasonal job and should have at least qualified for a 50% disallowance as this would be my third 12 month period, with only one more year that I could work and use this disallowance to keep my rent lower so that I could save some money.

Yet Helena Housing Authority Home Choice Voucher Counselor refuses to communicate through email to explain why I do not qualify or understand these rules. She insists we meet in person, and I would like a witness, but the Disability Rights CAP program does not seem interested enough in helping me, as they have not called back in response to my request for a witness in this instance.

I have contacted Senator Tester on this matter as he sits on the Appropriations Committee and helps to decide how much money HUD gets for these programs. His people sent me back to the Montana Department of Commerce Housing Division, and I sent the Agent there an email and have not heard back from them why I do not qualify for a fair hearing on this rent issue.

If anyone out there in internet land can tell me why I do not qualify for the EID, or why my income was not excluded under the 24 CFR 5.609 laws, and why I had to pay a higher rent with a lower income, why my own Housing Authorities will not allow me a fair hearing or even a complete answer to all my questions, then please email me with this explanation at snakewomanspeaks@gmail.com.

I do not understand, I thought I had a right to a fair hearing? I thought my Senator was to deal with Federal Issues and not sweep the poor under the carpet just because it's an election year. I guess I thought wrong. Does anyone have a van for sell that I might purchase because I can not afford to work and be a contributing citizen to society if the landlord gets every extra cent I earn and then some? But I can afford gas, a van, insurance and best of all I could work and be a productive member of society even though I am disabled. When does it pay to keep people locked into poverty?
It is sad when someone wants to work, but can only work a certain number of hours, can't work because the cost to get a job compatible with their disability will cost them more than they can make working.

FROM $153 TO $551 JUMP IN DISABLED MONTANA SEASONAL WORKER 2019 RENT

I just don't understand how a temporary, seasonal, part-time job can make your rent climb so high. I do use the Home Choice Section 8 Voucher program to help me with my rent as I became disabled in 2001, due to a physical assault on the job.

It wasn't until three, maybe four years ago could I secure a job. I only had my social security disability coming in for 16 years when I got a job as a seasonal, temporary worker doing Hunter Harvest Calls. It pays $9.50 an hour and it is a fight to get 20 hours, and I have yet to get the "core" hours, which are peak times people are home to call without having to work six days a week due to my chronic pain condition.

That is ok, the job pays about $190 gross a week, that is if I can get 20 hours in. That is about $570 take-home pay. That means for the six months I try to work up to 20 hours my rent will be $581 a month, leaving me with a grand total of $19 left from my net pay.

My SSDI is under $900 a month, and I will need to pay renter's insurance, which wasn't told to me before the lease signing, nor was it told to me that the housing authority agreed to the raising of the rent from $750 a month to $820. Granted all utilities are included, but the heat is locked in at 62 degrees and it has been in the twenty degrees to single digest numbers at night, and you don't get heat in the big bedroom or bathroom.

I had to pay a $750 security deposit and their cleaning people didn't even clean the oven the first time. The stove was present with crusted brown/black drip pans and an inch or more of precleaned oven crud that wasn't wiped out. The walls are filthy dirty, coated in dust, fuzz, and film from cooking, showering, buggers and blood on the walls along with other unidentifiable stuff. I get to clean it because they paid their cleaner for 4 hours at $20 an hour and she did little to nothing.

217 YEARS AND NO CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP NOT ALWAYS A GOOD THING