By Ashley Dines
I spent my first birthday in a shelter. Decades later, after doing all I was supposed to do to lift myself up out of poverty, I’m sofa hopping with my children.
I live in Las Vegas, where I work on a program helping low-income women and children find support to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. When I enrolled in the program myself, the supervisors recognized my ability to lead and offered me this job.
I love my work, and the pay is solidly above minimum wage. Given my humble beginnings, anyone would say I’m a success story. Except I’m currently homeless.
Rents are astronomically high. In Las Vegas, the average household now needs to make at least $70,000 a year to afford rent. I make a decent full-time salary — but not that much.
It’s not a problem unique to me or to Vegas. According to the Low-Income Housing Coalition, there is no state or county in the United States where someone working full-time at minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.
When a huge chunk of your paycheck goes to rent or the mortgage, there’s little leftover for an emergency. And most Americans — 56 percent of us — can’t pay for an unexpected emergency of $1,000. A surprise dental bill, medical bill, or car repair can send us spiraling into poverty.
That’s what happened to me. My mother had to be hospitalized, I separated from my children’s father, and my car broke down. I lost everything — almost literally overnight.
I first had to help my mother. She was my childcare provider, but she’s now disabled. Then my cell phone bill payments lapsed for two months, and I had to pay in full to keep my only source of communication turned on. I had to fix my car to get to work and get the kids where they needed to go. Legal bills piled up from trying to secure custody and child support.
I quickly fell behind on rent. The next thing I know, the constable was at my door — forcing me, my two kids, and my disabled mother out of the apartment and down the stairs. That proved too challenging for my mother, and I had to take her back to the hospital immediately.
Again, I work full time and make decent money. But many people are like me — we fall into the gap where our income is too high for assistance but too low for living.
Often, just a little bit of help could keep us from falling into homelessness, joblessness, or worse. If rental assistance were expanded to people making less than a housing wage, or if the pandemic-era expanded Child Tax Credit were still in place, I wouldn’t have been evicted.
We need to bring that expanded Child Tax Credit back. Antipoverty organizations are also calling for a new Renter’s Tax Credit.
Unlike homeowners who get a mortgage tax credit, renters don’t get any tax benefit for paying month after month. With a Renter’s Tax Credit, renters who pay more than 30 percent of our paychecks on housing would get a monthly credit to bring their housing costs down to that percentage.
That would help more of us stay in our homes, keep our jobs, and afford basics like food and child care. It could also reduce the need for more complicated safety net supports.
April is National Fair Housing Month. If we want everyone to have a fair chance to thrive, we can start now by ensuring access to stable, affordable housing.
Ashley Dines is a mother of two and an expert on poverty with Results from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dbhammock says
This credit sounds like a good way to make housing more affordable for the lower income folks. Would have been a better way to spend tax payer dollars than giving billions to college students for loan forgiveness. Hmm, which is better giving students who signed up for debt and are going to make lots of money from that college education, or helping someone who is making a little more than minimum wage be able to live Ind event housing.
Adam C Bryant says
College students with degrees are working min wage jobs and also, unable to pay rent. The loan forgiveness eases the burden. I don’t get why ppl are ok with paying astronomical prices to go to the Dr. Simply because “they have student loans they need to pay off” but ppl have issues with loan forgiveness programs of which you are not paying for?
I like the ideas in this article, and yes it will help, but nothing will help rent become affordable until the government starts putting caps on rent increases and limits on evictions. A no cause eviction should never be a thing. If the government doesn’t control the Rental market, then rental prices are just going to keep going up anytime there is help for renters (like the child tax credit, rental tax credits, etc) landlords will continue increasing rent anytime ppl start getting more income from anywhere.
Laurel says
Adam C Bryant: Let me take a wild guess, and guess you are not a landlord. Have you ever tried to evict a squatter? Ask your local Sheriff about squatters, and the amazing amount of knowledge they have to play the system, and how much money you will lose when they stop paying rent so that they can save up for the next down payment on the next place, and do the same thing all over again, and again. Not to mention the damage they will do that you will pay for.
Rent cannot, and will not, just continue to rise willy-nilly. Again, it is what the market will bare. Supply and demand. It makes no sense that rents would continue to rise if people are not willing to pay it. If you live on the coast, expect to pay more. It has always been that way.
We don’t need rent control in Florida; we need vacation rental control. Those are out of state investors eating up properties.
melly c says
We need both. And it continues to baffle me as to why AirBNB is allowed to continue operating at all, they play a big part in the blown up rental market in this state.
Laurel says
Melly C: You must be from New York. We do not need rent control here.
AirBnB is allowed to continued because Commissioners, like Hansen, state “We want the bed tax,” which supports tourism, not our daily quality of life needs, bringing more, and more, transients here, raising the cost of living. Been to Publix lately? The current Republican administration are business driven, and do not give a rat’s ass what residents want. It’s all about money, falsely claiming “property rights,” of course. Investors, who do not live here, are welcomed by real estate agents, Republican administrations, the Chamber of Commerce and the short term rental industry. You, my dear, do not count, but you are correct that these short term rentals have negatively effected the market.
JimboXYZ says
Isn’t Biden’s Affordable Housing great ? Let’s keep that border open for business/crossings & airlift them to Everywhere Else, USA, except Martha’s Vineyard, where there’s no room at the Inn. FL doesn’t need rent controls ? We’ve had them since Covid shutdown, then Covid was declared a non-emergency, the Goverment stopped paying or protecting from eviction. Yet the Biden inflation persists, continuing to ruin lives in Biden’s version of a homeless America. We need 4 more years of this so that Biden can get the job done ?
Not sure where in Palm Coast or Flagler County that you live Laurel, but the reality is virtually every duplex new construction, perhaps even existing is a pair of rental units. I know that at the 3 way intersection, that 2 of us bought property to actually live here, The properties next door in either direction for N, E & W are rental duplexes that are being way overutilized for occupancy. And everyday, anyone’s life is spent dreading the next domestic violence call or crime next door for an FCSO visit.
Rent will continue to increase, it’s never dropped, Palm Coast is growing & Alfin wants 4 more years to continue that. Monday at 5:08 PM a 73 year old woman was killed attempting to make a left turn onto Royal Palms Parkway at peak traffic volume with no traffic light at the only Drive that enters & exits to Royal Palms Parkway. It’s just a mess, the incompetence of city planning, the population growth. I’m on record or warning about this as every residential sub section approves more duplexes to be rented. so we now have a fatality and gridlock traffic to show for the expert city planning.
Laurel says
Jimbo: You absolutely refuse to see that inflation is corporate, and time, driven. You absolutely refuse to see that people are out spending money. You want to blame Biden for coastal rent. Come on, get real.
I was paying $580 a month for an apartment in Boca Raton, a nice one too just off Camino Real. That was in the 1990’5. When I saw that $580 a month could buy a house, nothing fancy but in a decent neighborhood, I went for it. Pricing does go up and pricing does go down. I sold it for a 100K more than I paid for it. The next owner more than doubled that profit. It just never stays down, it will continue to creep up. Try to find an apt in Boca Raton for $580 a month now! Ain’t happening.
Yesterday, while checking out of a store, I saw that cigarettes are $6-$7 a pack. When I was a kid, my brother gave me two dimes to go to the drug store and buy him a pack of Salem’s. Do you expect apartments to be $580 again? Do you expect cigarettes to be $0.20 again? Of course not.
In Ft. Lauderdale, you can buy a condo for half a million in “the hood.” In many areas, that were considered really nice areas, that became run down over time, and now going for half a mil. All this has not a damned thing to do with Biden, it’s all about supply and demand. Stop looking down the same tunnel and start seeing the big picture.
Duplexes have been rentals in Palm Coast from the get-go. Nothing new here. Yes, with expansion, you get crime. I’ll agree with you there. Palm Coast has been, and still is, badly planned. I agree with you there too. Taxes will climb with the growth, don’t let anyone tell you different. My belief is Alfin will get as much development done as he possibly can until he is voted out. I agree with you there, too. But what happens here, currently, is not driven by Biden, it’s driven by supply and demand, and corporate gauging.
Judy says
It seems this country has plenty of money to house illegal immigrants but kicks its own residents to the curb. Most people I know take standardized deductions and rarely can write off mortgage interest. Why isn’t this woman’s ex-husband paying his fair share (is he homeless too?)? I’d rather see my tax money (of which I pay plenty of) to help her or go to help house our veterans and other citizens than house, pay medical and schooling of non- US citizens.
Shelly says
Maybe he is paying his fair share, but he needs money to live on too and the way child support works which varies State to State, they take a certain percentage of your pay to go to child support but the Courts have to leave the parent paying child support money to live on too so they can pay their bills. He is in no way obligated to pay his wife’s rent just because she has custody of the children, she gets child support.
Ditto says
Certainly agree with you on veterans needing assistance more than illegals ! A good point about fathers not contributing to bring up their children. So little effort goes into getting this accomplished! I don’t buy into the “I can’t find him” excuse. Government can find every one! Use our tax dollars to solve our problems rather than those of other nations.
Laurel says
“I don’t buy into the ““I can’t find him”” excuse.” No kidding Ditto, have you ever tried to track someone down? Every time my friend found her ex, he quickly skipped town. So, who was helping her? The government?
Atwp says
Judy, is that her x husband? I thought she said they are separated. Don’t know if he is paying his share. He should be.
gw says
I just retired from Lost Wages and the rent ate up 60% of my monthly income.
Back here in Flagler Beach and rent is still a killer. Could have moved to Palm Coast but why?!
APRIL Simone GILBERT says
Hartsville South Carolina and Darlington South Carolina and Florence South Carolina and Lamar South Carolina and United States 🇺🇸 and Child Tax Credit Monthly check and 2,000 and 3,000 and 4th stimulus check and 1,700.00 and SSA and SSDI and SSI and 1,400.00 and P-EBT K-12 and 391.00 and United States 🇺🇸 🇺🇲
Laurel says
gw: You’re living on the beach.
Pogo says
@FWIW, on this Sunday…
“I never could stand racism or indifference to poverty. That doesn’t make me a lefty ideologue. It makes me an ordinary American.”
— David Talbot
https://www.google.com/search?q=David+Talbot
endangered species says
well then you definitely arent a republicon they are pro racism and promote poverty since all poors just need to work harder and need no social safety nets.
Atwp says
This story is very common. I like Joe, but student loan forgiveness. I don’t agree with that. Hard working people are losing their place of residence. Don’t understand some of these rental laws. I will say the landlords have to make a living too. This is a very sad common situation. What is the answer, I don’t know. Not happy she and her family were evicted.