The government is falling apart, and America as we knew it seems to have ceased to exist, but not much has changed in the households of the poorest of the poor: it’s the beginning of the month, and many of us are facing the fact that we can’t pay last month’s rent. I can’t speak for all poor people but like most women I blame myself.
I’d rather die than be homeless again, I don’t think I could take it, it was so scary and, and, how can I even describe it? If you haven’t been homeless, you just don’t know. It’s a traumatic stress event: I still find myself scoping out good hidden sleeping spots just in case. (Don’t worry; I’m not suicidal. Even that option is closed to me.)
As we know, it’s expensive to be poor. Once a person gets evicted from her home, it’s very difficult to become housed again. Here in Eugene, rents are high and there aren’t a lot of places available. When the market gets tight like that, owners need a way to sort their applicants, so they do credit checks,or background checks. Many of us couldn’t rent a lot of the apartments that you see from the freeway even if we had the money, because of the credit check. I’m lucky to have the place I’m in, a kind of studio where everything is included for $700. As a middle-aged woman I can live this simply. But I’m about to be evicted.
Here’s my personal story of extreme poverty.