Low-Income Renters: Latest Victims of Repossessed House
The increasing number of repossessed house and unemployment in the country has severely affected the economy, particularly low-income, minority families. According to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, some of the victims of the foreclosure crisis do not even own the foreclosed homes were they lived.
The coalition said that nearly 20 percent of houses facing foreclosures last year were rentals. It pointed out that foreclosed rental homes are prevalent in poor communities dominated by colored people.
And in some states, the foreclosure crisis has even complicated the lives of colored people who are renting the homes where they live because of the lack of law that protects tenants from sudden eviction.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, if the recession will continue at its current rate, homeless people will increase to 1.5 million in the next two years.
Additionally, the First Focus advocacy group said that about two million children will be affected by subprime mortgage foreclosures, including about 500,000 Latino children and over 280,000 Black children.
On the other hand, results of a school system national survey showed a surge in the number of homeless children this school year compared with the previous year.
And as families evicted from repossessed house struggle to overcome poverty and the lack of affordable housing, so is the social service systems which suffer from deep cost cutting and budget reductions. Most programs under the shelter system are designed for single individuals, leaving most families out in the cold.
Experts agree that the federal stimulus program to address homelessness could not cope up with the increasing number of homeless people due to unabated foreclosure and massive layoffs. Some federal efforts to address homelessness are the $70 million educational assistance for youth who are homeless and the $1.5 billion Emergency Shelter program of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development.
Most families seeking homes complained that they were restricted access to shelters because most of these facilities prohibit children or have set up age restrictions. And some families would rather sleep on the street than take the risk of separation from one another.
Government programs for homeless people target only shelter or street homeless. This means that children who are living in motel rooms may be eligible for educational assistance but their parents may not qualify.
To address the impact of the repossessed house crisis, some community organizers are exposing the excess and scarcity in the housing system by launching civil disobedience campaigns to encourage homeowners of foreclosed properties to remain in their homes in protest.
