With eviction ban expiring soon, another housing crisis could threaten minorities the most

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“Communities of color are hardest hit by the eviction crisis, representing 80% of vulnerable people,” according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

In Atlanta, the United Way says 95% of the families it helps fight eviction are black.

And black and Latin American families consistently report low confidence in the ability to pay rent during the pandemic, advocates say.

Jasmine Cruz from Atlanta says she lives with borrowed time, like so many others behind on their rent.

The 25-year-old single mother owes two months’ rent and recently received a notice demanding that she pay.

“It’s not easy,” she says. “I had a hard time.”

‘The children don’t know how to get over this’

Having nowhere to go for help, Cruz visited the Thrive Resource Center, which is operated in a makeshift office in an apartment building. There she met Monica Delancy, who helps those at risk of deportation.

Monica Delancy works to help those facing deportation in Atlanta

“We don’t want you to get to this point,” Delancy told him. “If you have to move, we want you to move with dignity. We want you to move out and put your things away, and we’ll find a place for you. But we don’t want you to be forced to go because the kids don’t know how to get over it. Adults can. The children don’t know how. “

Delancy says she was kicked out this time last year – “on a cold day like this, with a Christmas tree”.

Garnell Hodge also faces eviction. Hodge lost her job in the service industry due to the pandemic and concerns for herself and her 9-year-old granddaughter following an eviction notice.

“I have nowhere to go because the seats are so high and I don’t have a lot of income,” she said.

Garnell Hodge is raising his 9-year-old granddaughter.

Centraide’s Protip Biswas says the agency is overwhelmed with requests for help.

“Not only can we not help, but the funding expires at the end of December,” he says. “This is the biggest call we have – if there is a way to extend it so that we can continue to help families.”

Millions are behind on rent or mortgage payments

According to the US Census Household Pulse Survey, at the end of October, 9.9 million Americans were unaware of their rent or mortgage payments and had little to no certainty that their household could. pay next month’s rent or mortgage on time.
In an unprecedented move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order banning evictions between September 4 and December 31, estimating that up to 40 million people could lose their homes if it was not in place .
But thousands of eviction actions have been filed, according to data compiled by the Private Equity Stakeholders Project.

Lauren Lee of CNN contributed to this report.

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