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14
the greatest number of obstacles for so–
cial and economic seif-sufficiency.
Family l ife is usually a shambles. The
problems of a matr iarchal society -
families headed by women - are the
rule rather than the exceptíon. Few boys
oc
girls have fathers at home. With few
maJe examples and almost no masculine
discipline, thc mother is usually unable
to control the children. The teaching
of right values ís seldom considered
111
the helter-skelter of day-to-day
existencc.
Wel fare cases are particularly rife. Tn
1953, 26%- of the 400,000 families
moving into public housing projects
were getting public assistance. That was
already a gross problem. Wí thin ten
years, the figure had risen to 60%. In
sorne projects, such as Carmelitos in
Long Beach, California, the figure is as
high as 90%.
One of thc most dismaying aspects of
project lifc is the seeming inability of
many to escape what is known as the
"poverty cycle." Welfare mothers or
their chi ldrcn may have physical dis–
abilities preventing them from getting
and holding dccent employmcnt.
Oc,
as is more often the case, they
have no job skills. Available work often
pays poorly. One is often better off on
welfare. for many young gi rls in the
projects, early pregnancy is a fact of
life. This, coupled with no available
work, forces them to the welfare rolls.
The tragic "cyclc" then repeats itself.
W ithin half a generation, the early
pregnancy grows into a teen-age girl,
who herscl
f
becomes pregnant.
Havens for Crime
Most residcnts complain that their
biggest problem is crime. Robberies,
thefts and rapes are almost daily occur–
rcnces in project hallways, elevators,
roofs and cellars.
Crime is not only committcd by mug–
gers and rapists, but by teen-age gangs
roaming the projects at will. Fighting
among the project children is an ac–
cepted fact of life. As one mother
complained: "Thc first thing my kids
had to learn when we
fi
rst moved here
was how to fight."
Juvenile delinquency and vandalism
are evils plaguing every major housing
The
PLAIN TRUTH
The 1ntended Purposes
of Public Housing
Projects:
• To improve overall living
condit ions by rebuilding
and revitalizing blighted,
slum areas
• To expand housing units
available
• To expand job and m–
come opportunities and
reduce dependence on
we lfare payments
• To improve educational
facilities and programs
• To combat d isease and
ill health
• To reduce the incidence
of c r ime and del i n–
quency
• To enhance recreational
and cultural opportuni–
ties
project. They are also a way of life. The
teen-age boy has little else to do but be
delinc¡uent.
It
is the only way he can
say, "l'm a man." That is often the goal
of the teen-ager in the high-rise or low–
rise city slum. W hen he has become
delinc¡uent - has fought, stolen, in–
dulged in sex or perhaps killed - he
has "arrived." He is now an accepted
member of thc ghetto sub-culture.
Boredom among project youths is
also cited as a chief cause of delinc¡uent
behavior. One young lad in a large
New England project lamented: "There's
nothing to do. All you can do here is
sit around in the hallways. When some–
one chases you out of one, you go and
sit in another one. When you
get
bored,
you try stealing hubcaps or throwing
milk bottles or breaking light bulbs in
the hallways." Vandal ism becomes the
accepted form of recreation.
Overall lack of education among proj–
cct residents is universal. Very few
youngsters cver finish high school.
The
january
1972
What Has Resulted in
Most of the Projects:
• High degree of congestion,
noise and isolation from
middle-class commun i–
ties
• Most families fatherless
with a large number of
chi ldren
• High rate of unemploy–
ment with many families
on welfare
• High incidence of drug–
abuse and illegitimacy
• Low educational level
overall and high drop-out
rate from school among
teens
• J uvenile crime and van–
dalism rampant
• W idespread damage to
buildings and rapid de–
terioration of facil ities
problems at home combined with those
in the project are often more than they
can cope with. Education is not a mark
of success in the ghetto. The results are
high rates of unemploymcnt, welfare
and the "poverty
cycle."
These kinds of human problems
cause the massive housing project
experiments to fail. New dwellings are
built. But there is no way to imple–
ment a corresponding change in the
character and attitude of the project
inhabitants.
Built on an lncomplete
Foundation
Most of the high-rise projects were
built during the 1950's construction
boom. lt was then that massivc urban
renewal was undertaken with a passion.
One major conccpt nalve ly assumed
that merely providing decent housing
for the poor would somehow make the
dwellers over in the image of the
project.