Inflation is making people homeless
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 July 2022
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Today on “Post Reports,” how the rising cost of living is pushing many Americans into homelessness, even if they have good jobs.
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The sheriffs arrived at 6 a.m. in early June to tell Josanne English what she already knew: She was being evicted.
She’d lost her job as a project manager near Sacramento in April, then fell behind on rent as $6-a-gallon gas and higher costs for food and utilities depleted her monthly budget. By the time she lost her home two months later, she owed $9,160 in rent and late fees, and her bank account was nearing zero.
English never thought she would be in this situation. She made nearly $100,000 last year. But, economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai says, she’s not alone.
“What's been striking this time around, just in conversations with families and also with homeless shelters and service providers, is that the people who are losing their homes now often have jobs. Sometimes they're even really good-paying jobs. But, you know, maybe their lease comes up for renewal. It's going up by 20 percent or 30 percent and they just can't afford that.”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Give a helping hand this Giving Tuesday with the Washington Post Helping Hand. |
| 0:05.0 | This is John Kelly, Post-Local Columnist, and I'm writing columns now and into the new year |
| 0:10.5 | that tell the stories of three amazing helping hand beneficiaries. |
| 0:15.0 | Bread for the city, friendship place, and Miriam's kitchen. |
| 0:19.0 | Go to PostHelpingHand.com to learn about the local families these nonprofits support and donate today. |
| 0:26.0 | Thank you from all of us at the Washington Post. |
| 0:31.0 | Inflation in America is at the highest levels we've seen in over 40 years. |
| 0:41.0 | Ababa-Jurai is an economics correspondent at the Post. |
| 0:44.0 | She has been reporting on inflation for months. |
| 0:47.0 | We just found out that in June, prices rose 9.1% from a year ago, |
| 0:52.0 | and I think every American has been seeing it for the last year. |
| 0:56.0 | You know, we see it at the grocery store at the gas station, rents and mortgages, |
| 1:00.0 | everything has gotten significantly more expensive. |
| 1:03.0 | And that means that more people are losing their housing. |
| 1:07.0 | People are getting priced out of their homes and apartments, |
| 1:10.0 | and we've seen a real sharp and very sudden rise in homelessness this year |
| 1:16.0 | that many shelters are saying is directly linked to inflation. |
| 1:25.0 | One of the people who lost their housing this year was JoSan English. |
| 1:28.0 | She lives in California in your Sacramento. |
| 1:31.0 | I lost my job in April, April 15th, and I did have some money, |
| 1:37.0 | so I was able to carry the rent for a little bit. |
| 1:42.0 | And then I thought I'd be able to find a job sooner, but that wasn't quite the case. |
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