COVID-19 s Looming Eviction Crisis Will Devastate Women
The pandemic has only magnified systemic sexism and racism in housing, possibly leaving millions of women and their families homeless come January.
By Alanna Vagianos
Updated
Dec 11, 2020
Above: Nawaal Walker embraces her daughter, Ca’leah Moore, 8, in their home in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. Credit: Rachel Jessen for HuffPost
In March, Nawaal Walker was on track to finally save up enough money to move into her first house by July. It was going to be a hard-earned 40th birthday present to herself and five of her children who, along with Walker’s son-in-law and two cats, were living in a two-bedroom apartment in Durham, North Carolina.
Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Digital signs around Norristown said it was 43 degrees, but with the wind it felt much colder in the small encampment by the banks of Stony Creek where Dottie and Mark Spillane have been staying.
The couple, both 60, have briefly been homeless before. Then, before the pandemic hit, Mark’s severe health issues cost him his job delivering used cars. With COVID looming, he couldn’t find a new one, and their landlord kicked them out.
“I was in the hospital, I was getting out, and I couldn’t get my rent paid. I couldn’t get back to work. It just was bad timing,” he said, of the pandemic shutting down workplaces.
With federal and local moratoriums on residential evictions set to expire at the end of the month, Austin Mayor Steve Adler is prepared to take action to keep renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in their homes into next year.
Adler on Thursday teased to an upcoming order that would extend the city s existing moratorium on evictions. The mayor, who made the announcement during the City Council s final meeting of the year, did not provide specifics as when he d authorize the order or for how long the extension would be.
Adler later issued a statement through an aide, saying: “I anticipate extending the current order protections against evictions. The data shows eviction actions like ours save lives. We are working with Travis County on continuing protections in the interest of public health, while also further pursuing changes to better address the impact on landlords.”