Ru Bez PZ Motbon hls 9 AM. Cap fh oe orth ( Por Couniesioner Molanghlin ) “ r . ‘THE CHILDREN'S STAKE IN HOUSING, 1070 ‘the opportunity to address you briefly on this subject is heartily weloome by ne, because of my deep interest in good housing os a basi, elenental nood for all children. As Chairman of the Nationel capital Housing Authority which serves ss the public housing agenoy for the District of Columbia, I have come to know something of the tragic soareity of decent housing for families with children, especially those fenilies whone insones are low. I do not intend to imply by this statement thet the need is one which oan or should be net by public housing alene. I believe that we must place upon private enterprise our major dependence for the creation of new residential neighborhoods for all families whose inooues are sufficient to purchase their own homes or to pay profit-producing rents for standard housing. ‘he part which public housing plays in this economy ig that of supplenenting the private housing supply to the extent necessary ‘to meet the housing needs of fanilies whose incomes are not sufficient to enable then to rent good privately-omed housing of the various types and Sines which they require. I feel strongly also that we must develop new means to encourage private housing construction, so that families in the lower-middle income group shell not be left ine No Man's land, where their inecnes are above the levels served by public housing but still not suffietent to pay private rentals of housing financed under present methods.‘he Children's Stake in Housing, 1970 > ‘The entire subject of housing should be of compelling interest te this eonference because the proper development of the child requires that he be Adentified es an important part of a family unit. It follows, therefore, ‘that the family home must provide the easential base—the hoadquartera—for ‘the care ani rearing of the obild. In thie connection, it is well for us to renenber tiat the Congress of the thited States has fully recognised the importance of the children's stake in housing. In the Declaration of Netions] Housing Policy which the Congress adopted in the Housing Aot of 1949, there is set forth as a prime objective "the realisation as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent hone and @ suitable Living environment for every smerioan family.” Let us reneuber also that, to the child, his houc means much nore than the materials of which 4t is built or the Jan on which it stands. To the ehild, home vepresente—or should reprosent—e place of scourity, where he 4s an object of aifectionate interest, a place where his many needs are anticipated and eet, where he is tended curing periods of illness, and where he ie encouraged and guided in the complex process of yrowing to manhood. Because af these considerations, the developaent of the ehild is shaped to a major degree by the conditions which obtain in his heme, know only too well that dissension and antigootal bebavior by elders in ‘the family hone oan gravely and sonetines permanently distort the course of the growing child, regardless of the phystonl adequayy of the dwelling. Good housing 4 essential, but is is never a mbstitute for affectionate and responsible parents. Yet in the blighted areas of our oities—in obsolete, decaying and overcrowded housing—oonacienticus parents are maging a desperate atruggleThe Children's Stake in Eousing, 2970 + ‘to raise their children safely; to protect them from the malignant effects of poor housing and unholssone environment. Such dangers are imediate and constants they pose @ greve threat to the health, the morals and the minds of the children Living under these confitions, Re heve 8 responsi- bility to be gravely comerned ty the destrustion of sostal ant environmental Anetitutions which once were of inomleulable value in supporting and main- ‘einin: the wholesonenass and general desirability of urban neighborhoods. Yet an examination of the juvenile problene in seversl urban centers today must lead to the finding that the children now growing up in these once happy not ghborhoods are beset by tanmions, anxietivs and confusions which were hardly known # generation aso. ‘The child who cannot identify his home as a place of love and sesurity— ‘the youngster who is eshaned or afraid to bring his friends hone—such @ oh$ld is losing the battle of life, Such unhapay little ones, dram together ty their common lot, are likely omndidates for gang menberships or other ‘equally abhorrent mbstitutes for happy, wholesome hose life. Our nation cannot be truly proud of our oities, so long as these cities tre defaced by cluns and blight, with their ever-present danger to the lives of our chilaren. Sone have said that our comtry eamot afford the cost of reclining our slums, the truth is, however, that we cannot afford the far «reater costs af continuing to treat the produsts of the siune—broken minds and bodies, delinquency, dependenay. let ne illustrate the point by a brief @Uixpse at sone local history. ‘Twenty-five years ago there was completed & study of only one slim ares in our city of Washington. Detailed examinstion of munieipal records dis- closed thet 20 per cont of the prisoners in the District's reformatory and 34 per cent of those in the District jatl had come trom addreasea in that‘The Ghildren's Steke in Housing, 1970 al one slim ares. Furthermore, thet one section was responsible for nesrly 2 per cent of the oity's cases of juvenile delinguansy, and 33 per sent of know cases of tuberculosis, At the same tins, the Listriot was pouring into that one area nore than one-fifth of its total annuel appropriations for crime detection and prevention, health serviees, and relief allotments. ‘Those Sunde were not being spent to eradicate the oonditions which gave rise to these startling statistics. father, the money was used only to treat the evila—the nauscous lyprodusta--that were spammed by the eluns. Zt was outimated that the oity's annual expenditures in that area were ‘spproxizately $500,000 more than the seotion prodused in municipal tax revenues. In other words, "ashington was gubsidising the elum—and fighting a costly, losing battle against erime and disoase. Fortunately for the children of Washington, we are waking use today of nex weapons againgt the slums—weapons which had not been developed twenty- five years ago. these new forma of attack upon the sun problen are many and various—they sre brought together in effective ccnoert through the District of Columbia's workable program of urban renewal, The present child population of Washington, and the akildren who will be born to Washington parents during the next decade, have much at stake 4n the urban renewal. progran. ay tide because the proves of urban renewal ig causing eeny families with children to move to other md te better housing, as old dwellings are vacated because of prencunsed structural deficieveies, insanitary conditions, overcrowding, and so forth. In addition t© thege methods of alum prevention and elisination, the progran inclules prominently the work of the Fedevelopsent Land Agenay which acquires and oleare blighted arees and aids in rebousing the families who are thereby displaced.‘The Children's Stake in Housing, 1970 Se the Pedeveloment, land Ageney works in eloge conjunction with the Yetiona) capital Sousing Authority in aiding the rehousing of low-income froilion, ith the assistance of mublie and privete social avencies, RIA end NCHA work constantly to assure that the protiess besetting fanilies faced with digplasenent are identified scourately before the families are noved, 90 that services of appropriate ayenoics can be ovtalned and eon~ tinued so long as needed. Of course, many of these probiens are eentered in eld health ani child care in generale At the present tine, we are eying the orowded slums of the old centre) Northwest ares of Saghington a6 the soene of our next major effort. Thou sends of severely disadvantaged children live in the ld housing within that area. %e are moving carefully with plane Zor the ersdieation of these siuns, for the rekousiny of the fanilies who are to be displaced, end for the redevelopsent of that area—through @ ooebination of private and publis neens—for inproved residential, commercial and industrial uzess Pach step of the complex process must be undertaken with the utmost eare—~and & major iter of somern will be the relousing of the ferilies with ebildren. the effective renewal of our oities 4a lon, and difficult task, but At must co forward. Where and how our children will Live in 1970 wil deperd upon deoisiona which must be sade today. ‘These decisions effect governmental policy, finsnoing, planning and citigen participstion in the renews) progran. If we are te safeguard ow children, we cannot tenporise with the challenge of the sluns. fe must have the legel and finanodal reans to provide an adequate supply of good housing in good neivhborhoode for every Averioan family. Yet such resourees are only the beginnings for in the ten years which Le ohead, there must be unrelenting, tireless,united effort to echieve our goal. Only by the devoted end sanbined endeavors of our people can we assure full protestion of the childrents stake in housing in 1970.