New Data Out as Cliff Manor Move-in Nears

Data released today from the Dallas Housing Authority, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance and the city note Dist. 3 as having nearly 18 percent of Dallas’ subsidized housing — the largest figure for any local council district. Prompted by the controversial relocation of Bridge shelter occupants to DHA high-rise Cliff Manor, the study is circulating as a PDF and contains additional scoop about tax credits, need, and other factors related to permanent supportive housing.

MDHA president Mike Faenza tells me the higher percentage for Dist. 3 relates in large part to projects that don’t actually cater to low-income people, and in some cases indicate city-subsidized developments “that the councilperson [in office at the time] likely approved of.” I’m interested in corroborating this and picking at it historically, so we may have more details in an upcoming story.

In any case, the big move for 17 chronically homeless to Cliff Manor starts Monday — not all at once, but in a staggered process that will play out over the course of the week. The group is mostly female, plus a few senior-citizen men. All have battled addiction and/or mental illness, Faenza said, though the latter can equate at times to common ailments like depression and anxiety, and in all cases the condition is managed.

Cliff Manor Task Force/city official/DHA/MDHA meetings like the one that rocked last Monday night’s clock are likely to continue next week, but at last word a time and date had yet to be set. So stay tuned.

*Another quick note, per the Faenza conversation: in related stories, I’ve written that move-in priority will be given, in part, to single parents — but that children won’t be able to live on the premises (thus begging the question of what happens to ‘em). I’ve seen several other news outlets do the same thing, and think we reporters got that non-factoid from a flier that noted as much incorrectly (or distractingly, anyway) back in June. Some of the homeless applicants may have had kids at one point or another, but they aren’t raising any now.

For more about Cliff Manor and the folks who are still squaring off, pick up the current issue of Oak Cliff People.