The future is uncertain for more than 12 million homes. A moratorium on evictions from federally assisted properties expires on saturday, causing a real problem during coronavirus pandemic. Nearly a third of American households did not receive housing payments in early July.
A convention center in Columbus, Ohio, is open despite the virus outbreak. Instead of table vendors, attorneys offer free legal help for people facing evictions.
Daniata Morgan is one of the thousands facing eviction. She has two children and stopped working during the COVID-19 outbreak, worried that Crohn’s disease would put her at risk.
“I feel sad. I’m about to cry right now, it sucks,” he told CBS News. “Most likely, we will be evicted.”
Ohio is one of 28 states that does not have a state ban on evictions during the pandemic.
Morgan was one of the lucky ones who was granted rent relief.
Up to 28 million Americans could be evicted in the coming months, according to data from the Eviction Lab. Approximately 1 million were evicted each year after the 2008 recession.
In Miami, a mother of three children called CBS News while looking for work. “Trying to solve everything, for the sake of my children,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified.
She was evicted in May after the restaurant where she was a waitress closed. Now she is in a motel. Her children stay with a babysitter.
“At night it really hits me, like when I can’t even put my kids to bed,” he explained. “It gets very emotional. And it’s very sad.”
Minorities are at increased risk of eviction, a group that is particularly affected by the virus itself. The mother CBS News spoke to said she tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I feel like they’re hitting me from left to right,” he said. “With everything that happens with my situation, what’s next?”
Others are likely to be at the same risk, with the United States caught between a health and an economic crisis.
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