Post by blackcrowheart on May 17, 2007 13:58:49 GMT -5
Indian housing workers lose jobs
By JODI RAVE
Missoulian
Paul Lumley, director of the National American Indian Housing Council, was
barely on the job a day when he had to fire half his staff.
It was his only choice if the housing council wanted to keep the lights on
and the doors open in the Washington, D.C., office.
"It didn't take long to figure out what we needed to do, and do it quick,"
Lumley said Wednesday. "It was the worst week of my professional career. It
will affect this organization forever. It will never be the same."
The housing council received a federal budget cut of $2.6 million last year,
and the House of Representatives recently included it among a list of
earmarks, or entitlement programs, that are being scrutinized or phased out
of this
year's federal appropriations bill.
If his predecessor had made the cuts last year, as planned, workers might
have had time to look for new jobs, Lumley said. Instead, half the staff got
their notices in a matter of days.
"We're not the only one going through this," said Cheryl Parish, a council
board member in Brimley, Mich.
"When we reached out to our friends on the Senate side, they said, 'We hear
you. Our phones are ringing off the hook.' "
Housing council members, which consist of tribal housing authorities, will
meet Feb. 14 and 15 in the capital to discuss congressional reauthorization
of
the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act, which guides federal
policy housing initiatives for tribes across the country.
"I've got an enormous challenge ahead of me to restore funding," Lumley
said. If money is restored, full-time field workers won't be replaced;
instead,
tribal contractors will be hired.
"I don't want to go through what I did again," Lumley said.
Lumley was hired as the housing council's executive director on Jan. 29. The
next day, he compiled a list of field workers who needed to be fired. Then
he began making phone calls.
"It was the longest four days of my life," said Louie Sheridan, one of 16
field workers who learned last week that he lost his job. Sheridan lives in
Lincoln, Neb., and often traveled to reservations around the country to
offer
technical assistance to tribes on housing matters.
"We did keep enough field staff in place, but unfortunately a lot of tribes
are still going to need service," Parish said.
Jodi Rave covers American Indian issues. Contact her at __jodi.rave@lee._jo_
(mailto:_jodi.rave@lee.net) _
(mailto:_jodi.rave@lee.jod_ (mailto:jodi.rave@lee.net) ) or 406-523-5299.
By JODI RAVE
Missoulian
Paul Lumley, director of the National American Indian Housing Council, was
barely on the job a day when he had to fire half his staff.
It was his only choice if the housing council wanted to keep the lights on
and the doors open in the Washington, D.C., office.
"It didn't take long to figure out what we needed to do, and do it quick,"
Lumley said Wednesday. "It was the worst week of my professional career. It
will affect this organization forever. It will never be the same."
The housing council received a federal budget cut of $2.6 million last year,
and the House of Representatives recently included it among a list of
earmarks, or entitlement programs, that are being scrutinized or phased out
of this
year's federal appropriations bill.
If his predecessor had made the cuts last year, as planned, workers might
have had time to look for new jobs, Lumley said. Instead, half the staff got
their notices in a matter of days.
"We're not the only one going through this," said Cheryl Parish, a council
board member in Brimley, Mich.
"When we reached out to our friends on the Senate side, they said, 'We hear
you. Our phones are ringing off the hook.' "
Housing council members, which consist of tribal housing authorities, will
meet Feb. 14 and 15 in the capital to discuss congressional reauthorization
of
the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act, which guides federal
policy housing initiatives for tribes across the country.
"I've got an enormous challenge ahead of me to restore funding," Lumley
said. If money is restored, full-time field workers won't be replaced;
instead,
tribal contractors will be hired.
"I don't want to go through what I did again," Lumley said.
Lumley was hired as the housing council's executive director on Jan. 29. The
next day, he compiled a list of field workers who needed to be fired. Then
he began making phone calls.
"It was the longest four days of my life," said Louie Sheridan, one of 16
field workers who learned last week that he lost his job. Sheridan lives in
Lincoln, Neb., and often traveled to reservations around the country to
offer
technical assistance to tribes on housing matters.
"We did keep enough field staff in place, but unfortunately a lot of tribes
are still going to need service," Parish said.
Jodi Rave covers American Indian issues. Contact her at __jodi.rave@lee._jo_
(mailto:_jodi.rave@lee.net) _
(mailto:_jodi.rave@lee.jod_ (mailto:jodi.rave@lee.net) ) or 406-523-5299.