If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord to evict a tenant who falls behind under those circumstances, eviction becomes an inevitability.
Matthew DesmondRead
In college, when I was kind of confronted with facts and figures about inequality in America, a big impulse I had was to go hang out with homeless people around my university and hear them out and understand their situation from their perspective.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects a desire to understand homelessness and social inequality by engaging directly with those affected.
Matthew Desmond's quote emphasizes the importance of empathy and personal connection in understanding complex societal issues such as inequality and homelessness. By choosing to spend time with homeless individuals, he sought to gain a deeper insight into their lives and struggles, illustrating the idea that firsthand experiences are crucial for addressing social disparities.
Themes
InequalityHomelessnessEmpathyUnderstandingSocial Justice
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social responsibility during a seminar, this quote can be used to highlight the need for empathy.
More from Matthew Desmond
All quotes →Do we believe housing is a right and that affordable housing is part of what it should mean to be an American? I say yes.
Matthew DesmondRead
The texture and hardship of poverty and eviction is something that I think left the deepest impression on me, and I hope that I try to convey a little bit of that to the reader.
Matthew DesmondRead
When I was confronted with just the bare facts of poverty and inequality in America, it always disturbed and confused me.
Matthew DesmondRead
Arguably, the families most at need of housing assistance are systematically denied it because they're stamped with an eviction record. Moms and kids are bearing the brunt of those consequences.
Matthew DesmondRead
Moms that get evicted are depressed and have higher rates of depressive symptoms two years later. That has to affect their interactions with their kids and their sense of happiness. You add all that together, and it's just really obvious to me that eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
Matthew DesmondRead
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