Yahoo! - "Seattle Welfare Recipient Lives in Million Dollar Home"

 Today I received a telephone call from a friend. She said, "You have to read this article on titled, "Seattle Welfare Recipient Lives in Million Dollar Home". Upon viewing the video, I couldn't help but to be especially startled by the comment, "It's a plush address. It should raise a red flag." The focus of the newscast seemed to be more about the possibility of voucher recipient residing at a "plush" address than the possibility of someone committing fraud. In this situation, it seems that the voucher system worked as designed. It is designed to allow voucher receipients to live where they want as long as the landlord accepts the voucher. If a person qualifies for a housing voucher, what difference does it make if a landlord has an available property in what some might consider a "plush" neighborhood? The focus of this news report is all wrong. Is there a designated area where voucher recipients are supposed to live? Again, the focus of this report is all wrong.

This report is irresponsible and two words come to mind: Fair Housing. Take a look at the write-up from the link:

According to the report, the program is supposed to help low-income families move away from housing projects, yet the correspondent seems to be focused solely on the "type of home the benefits recipient is living in." The report mentions that the recipient is receiving disability income and receives foodstamps. Does receiving these benefits disqualify a person from experiencing life in a neighborhood of their choosing? There simply isn't enough information about this situation to warrant a newscast. Admittedly by King5News, no charges have been filed. As of right now, there is an appearance of wrong-doing.

King5News has definitely made one thing clear to the public: Voucher recipients should not have access to housing with a "plush" address. How shameful.