Hours after three homeless people were evicted from one boarded-up house owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, they moved into another unoccupied HUD house, officials said. The three are members of the Union for the Homeless, and HUD spokesman Ken Barnard accused them of seeking publicity. Police evicted Clotilde Lewis, 36, Duwayne Jackson, 39, and Floretta Logan, 27, from the first house Tuesday afternoon. Homeless Union members had helped them break into the home on Saturday. Lewis was handcuffed and taken to a police station when she refused to leave the first house but was released without being charged. Barnard said the three were trespassing in a house bought by a family that planned to move in later in the week. Hours after their eviction, the three settled into a boarded-up four-bedroom house with three kerosene heaters, clothes and hamburgers from a fast-food restaurant. They remained there early today while officials considered whether to arrest them and file trespassing charges, said William Harris, deputy director of the Detroit HUD office. Wayne Pippin, president of the Union for the Homeless, said after the eviction Tuesday that HUD owns many vacant homes and ``should be ashamed to kick someone out of this home, which is needed so badly.'' Jackson, unemployed after working at odd jobs, said housing is difficult to find on $150 a month from public assistance. ``This is a major emergency situation,'' said Sally Pattee, a group spokeswoman. ``The temporary shelters have been full since July. When people need temporary shelter, they need it now.'' Barnard said HUD makes its properties available to the homeless through organizations such as the Detroit Non-profit Housing Coalition. HUD obtains houses when buyers default on government-backed mortgages.
