It starts with car problems, an emergency medical procedure, or a lost job. If there are any savings, they go fast. There’s a missed payment or two, then a repossession or an eviction.
Obstacles overlap and compound quickly: once the car has been repossessed, getting to work can take hours, a commute that is tenable for only so long. With no income, rent goes unpaid. With no fixed address, filing for unemployment and applying for jobs become impossible.
Parents experiencing homelessness are faced with even greater challenges. In addition to figuring out where their families might sleep on any given night maybe a car if it’s not too cold out, maybe a motel if it is, maybe a shelter if there’s room, maybe the street if there’s no other choice parents also need to get their kids to school.
Overcoming NIMBY: Look at what Cara Mendelsohn did for the homeless in her Far North Dallas district As COVID-19 eviction moratorium expires, a warm and welcoming shelter will open specifically for families without a roof over their head.
Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn at the Candlewood Suites at 19373 Preston Road. The council approved the funds Wednesday to buy the hotel in Far North Dallas for use as a family homeless shelter.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Seldom under a bridge or on a street corner, they huddle at night inside their cars at big-box parking lots and community parks. At least there, they can mostly control their environment.