Thread by @HowardCenterUMD

Public housing is supposed to be a solution to homelessness, not a cause of it.

But some of these local agencies are aggressive filers of eviction cases. @JennaRCohen shows how the process varies from place to place. #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism analyzed four years of eviction data to find out why these important anti-poverty agencies are taking so many of their clients to court. homeless.cnsmaryland.org/2020/12/15/pub… #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen Late rent payments were by far the leading reason they sought to evict their tenants, who are living in public housing because they’re struggling to make ends meet. homeless.cnsmaryland.org/2020/12/15/pub… #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen Public housing is “meant to accommodate people who are having difficulty paying their rent, because they have very limited incomes to begin with,” said Diane Yentel, the president and CEO of the @NLIHC. #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen @NLIHC But the program has been underfunded by Congress for decades, leading some housing authorities to adopt unyielding approaches to rent collection so they can sustain their operations. homeless.cnsmaryland.org/2020/12/15/pub… #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen @NLIHC “It’s not fair to come after the low-income (people) that only live off a little bit of money, that are barely bobbing above the water,” said Kandise Norris, a mother of three who is facing potential #eviction. “We already struggle every day." homeless.cnsmaryland.org/2020/12/15/pub… #NowhereToGo

@JennaRCohen @NLIHC This project, the latest in our #NowhereToGo series on homelessness and evictions, is possible thanks to funding from the @ScrippsHowardFd, @pulitzercenter and @ParkFoundation.

Read the whole series here: homeless.cnsmaryland.org