Since COVID-19 started to make its way throughout the United States earlier this year, it’s been creating significant changes in everyone’s day to day lives. Many people’s jobs have been greatly impacted or completely lost due to COVID-19. This shift in our society has made a greater number of people at risk for impoverishment or homelessness.
In Oregon, there was a rent-freeze called the Oregon Eviction Moratorium that would allow people to wait to pay their rent, without fear of being evicted. This was able to give people some time who were experiencing lowered or lost wages to be able to keep their place of living without fear of eviction. This bill went into effect in late June of this year and will end on December 31st of this year. After December 31st, people will have six months to pay off their debts to their landlords before being faced with potential eviction.
While the Oregon Eviction Moratorium was a step in the right direction for giving people a chance to keep their space of living, when the moratorium ends, there will be a vast increase in the number of people who could potentially become homeless due to the debt they’re in and their own financial circumstances. There is a chance that the already high number of homeless people will begin to increase in the coming months due to people’s financial situations in this pandemic.
In the pandemic that we’re currently in, it is difficult for people experiencing homelessness to be able to properly socially distance themselves and to get adequate treatment if they were to get the Corona Virus. Especially with how shelters for those experiencing homeless have traditionally been running, it seems difficult to provide socially distant living spaces for these people. So the homeless population seems to be at a high risk of contracting the virus. This along with treatment being so costly, especially if you don’t have insurance or money to spare, it may be very difficult for people who are at risk of being homeless to get the health care they would need.
There are organizations such as A Home For Everyone that are looking for ways to help people experiencing homelessness in these times. They, along with other organizations are looking to help give solutions to the problems people are facing due to the pandemic going on. On their website, you can find information about how they are trying to help distribute water, meals, face coverings, and socially distancing shelters.
Photo Taken from http://ahomeforeveryone.net/covid-homelessness
References and more information can be found below
COVID-19 homelessness response. (n.d.). Retrieved 2020, from http://ahomeforeveryone.net/covid-homelessness
Homelessness in America: Overview of Data and Causes. Retrieved 2020, from https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Oregon Eviction Moratorium FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/helpdesk/oregon-eviction-moratorium-faq
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