Waitlisted by the Government

-

 

Image courtesy of istockphoto.com

 

Monica* is a 61-year-old disabled woman working three jobs to make her ends meet. She makes roughly $2,500 a month, pays $1500 for rent, $300 for car, plus add in bills and food and it becomes impossible to save any money. Monica’s rent is going up, and she needs cheaper housing. She needs to drop two jobs because she physically cannot work that much, but if she does this, she will be homeless.


Monica applied for several waitlists for federally funded housing, housing vouchers, section 8, section 42, and more. She isn't old enough for senior housing (age 62). She was denied every time for “making too much money” to meet income restrictions or “not enough money” to meet 3x rent for the apartments. She would literally need to be homeless to get help. And even then, some places require jobs, a specific monthly income, and base your income on last year’s tax return.

 

Post COVID-19 the housing voucher and housing assistance waist lists have hundreds of individuals and families needing housing. Some waitlists are so full they aren’t taking any more applications. To try and receive help and prevent homelessness is impossible with the current legislature. Monica is just simply one person who is falling through the cracks of homelessness just like many others. 


Image screenshot from Vancouver Housing Authority


The housing crisis is not getting better and people like Monica cannot afford to live. Those that are already houseless will gain “preference” on these waitlists, but even with preference it could take months. Those near homelessness are at a huge disadvantage trying to balance low income, rent, and bills but still be able to receive housing vouchers and qualify for housing assistance. The only other option is homelessness.

 

We need advocates for people who are unable or unwilling to advocate for themselves. Why? Because humanity depends on it.

 

Our congress is a problem. Our government is a problem.

 

Our elected officials are there to help our citizens. Our most vulnerable populations are suffering and receiving little to no support and assistance from the government. There are bills constantly being introduced to congress and senate by local politicians, but the bills will never pass.



Image screenshot from govtrack.us congress tracking system, showing very little prognosis of bills being passed to assist our houseless/near houseless community members


This is despicable and immoral. There are more than 500 congressmen/women, why aren't there more cosponsors?

 

Our community can only improve if we are willing to take care of each other.

 

Vote, participate, advocate.


To register to vote in Oregon, click here!


For more information on how you can make a difference, click here!





Resources



*Name has been changed to disguise the interviewee








Published by Kasey DeRaad





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community

-
Image
  Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community Source: Unsplash The Facts                                                                                          According to  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 233,832 are people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the United States. Of the 233,832, 50,767 are families with children.  Currently, 30% of homeless people are adult women.  (portlandoregon.gov)   Bradley Angle , which works to support survivors of  domestic violence , reported that 70% of domestic violence reports are from homeless women. ( www.kgw.com)  Homeless women are 1/3 of the fastest growing populations HUD homeless populations. ( portlandoregon.gov)   Specifically, in Por...
Read more

Understanding Homelessness

-
Image
  Source (American Addiction Centers)      Homelessness has a myriad of different reasons it can happen. The similarity between all scenarios in which a person is experiencing homelessness is that each person is human. A popular belief is that homelessness is a choice. People believe there is a set amount of circumstances that cause homelessness and that it is a choice not to fight to get out of those problems. The problems can range from mental health issues to drug addiction. There is no one size fits all, and it is not a choice.  Over the last few weeks, I have learned that there are many factors that can lead to homelessness. One big one that focuses on our class is how affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is a significant contributor to people not getting back on their feet. If you want to learn more about that subject and if affordable housing can help, click here.   This lack of affordable housing is a big roadblock for those trying to ove...
Read more

Air pollution caused by wildfires may increase risk of dementia

-
Image
  There are already more than 57 million dementia sufferers in the world, and by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 153 million. It is estimated that risk factors like exposure to air pollution account for up to 40% of these instances. Even when annual exposure was lower than the current EPA annual threshold of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), the researchers discovered continuous evidence of a relationship between PM2.5 and dementia. The researchers discovered a 17% increase in risk for dementia for every 2 g/m3 increase in average yearly exposure to PM2.5, specifically among the studies using active case ascertainment. Despite the fact that the data was more sparse, they also discovered evidence supporting links between dementia and nitrogen oxide (5% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in yearly exposure) and nitrogen dioxide (2% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in annual exposure). According to a recent University of Michigan study, wildfi...
Read more