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
Young mothers who apply for housing assistance in our nation's capital literally could be grandmothers by the time their application is reviewed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The waiting period for housing assistance can be extremely long, impacting young mothers' lives significantly.
This quote by Matthew Desmond highlights the harsh reality of bureaucratic delays in housing assistance programs, emphasizing how young mothers may age significantly, even to the point of becoming grandmothers, before receiving necessary support. It reflects the urgent need for reforms in social assistance systems to address the timely needs of vulnerable populations.
Themes
HousingAssistanceSocial IssuesPovertyBureaucracy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing social welfare reform, one could use this quote to illustrate the urgent need for timely support for families.
More from Matthew Desmond
All quotes βDo 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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