BEAUMONT — According to Executive Director of the Beaumont Housing Authority Robert Reyna, a rule was published by HUD back in 2016 to enforce a smoke-free policy for every Public Housing Agency administering public housing.
This rule was put into effect in February 2017, but provided 18 months for Public Housing Agencies to enforce the rule.
Reyna said their residents were asked to sign a lease agreement including the new policy in October of 2017. That policy will go into affect on July 31. Families living in the public housing will be required to adhere to it or face consequences. He said residents will be warned if caught smoking indoors, and it could lead to the termination of their lease.
However, smokers are more than welcome to smoke outside, at least 25 feet away from the buildings.
Growing up, Reyna spent 12 years living in public housing before taking a job as a maintenance worker for the San Antonio Housing Authority in college. That job lead him on a 45-year-long journey, all the way up to management.
Reyna said there are a number of reasons why HUD is enforcing this new policy. First, he said, it's a safety concern. A lot of the homes are over 70-years-old and don't have a sprinkler system built in if a cigarette causes a fire. He said in the past, deaths have resulted from incidents involving smoking indoors.
Second, Reyna explained the costs of cigarettes is expensive.
"Cigarettes are not cheap, and if you are a low-income person on a fixed income that's a lot of money you can use otherwise to support your family and pay bills," said Reyna.
Reyna said they also hope the policy will promote a more healthy lifestyle, and improve residents quality of life.
Lastly, Reyna explained that there is a lot of maintenance that goes into making an apartment move-in ready after a smoker has been living in it. He said in units were people had been smoking for 10-15 years the walls become slightly yellow, and nicotine runs down the walls when maintenance workers wash and paint them. The carpet in these units is also usually ripped out or replaced. This takes a lot of time and money.
Reyna said the units are inspected once a year, and they will be able to tell if a person has been smoking or not. He said the odor lingers, and it stains the walls and gets embedded in carpet fibers. Maintenance will also be keeping an eye out when they go in for work orders. He said they are subject to inspection at a moments notice if a resident is suspected of smoking, but they don't want to become the smoking police.
Reyna knows some may feel the government shouldn't have the right to tell residents what they can and cant do in their homes. However, he said when you're apart of a federally funded program, the Government sets the rules.
"If you're going to participate in the program and reap the benefits of the program, you've got to follow the rules," said Reyna.
Tracy Boyett, however, has a different opinion. Boyett moved into Grandpine Courts Elderly Only Public Housing about 2 and a half months ago. She said when she and the elderly man she cares for moved in, they were told they were going to have to smoke outside.
"It's supposed to be freedom of speech, freedom of this, freedom of that, it's not freedom of nothing when they tell you you can't even smoke in their own house," said Boyett.
She went on to say that the man she cares for has been smoking for 63 years, and it's not a habit he can kick overnight.
According to Boyett, there are health risks for the elderly when they're forced to go outside and smoke in the heat. She said the man she cares for is now in the hospital battling pneumonia after being wheeled in and out of the house to smoke.
"You go from 65 to 105 you start having seizures and heart attacks, and all this stuff its just not a good thing," said Boyett.
Reyna said they understand smoking is a tough addiction to break. That's why his staff collaborated with UT Physicians to bring classes to Grandpine to help those interested in quitting find effective approaches to quit.
Those classes are offered to participants for free. For more information, contact Twana by phone at (409) 730-4714, or email.