Before the pandemic, Portlanders were already struggling with the increase of not only population but also the rising rent due to population increase. Portlanders were struggling to stay afloat and meet their monthly rent. Now imagine, mixing this situation with a global pandemic. People were and are out of work for a year plus, struggling even more to meet their monthly payments. With Coivd-19 Things were only magnified. The increase of people continuing to move to Portland even during a pandemic has continued to raise the rent rate.
According to news source Koin 6, more than 11,000 Oregon households are at risk of eviction. During the pandemic Oregon has implemented an Emergency Rent Assistance program. The aim is to help Oregonians pay their rent that is past due, due to the pandemic. Per the rental assistance website, if one is approved for the Emergency Rental Program, they will aim to cover 12 months of past due rent and three months of forward rent. As the deadline for rental assistance in Oregon approaches, only about 43% of the applications that have been submitted have been paid. You may be asking yourself why that is? Well Backlogging. Not only are most companies still following covid protocols, but there is also lack of staffing, as well as supply chain shortages. Mainly, businesses lack the appropriate staffing they need to run their facility.
While people are slowly starting to get back to a “normal life” with covid many are still worried about the repercussions of the illness. They do not want to expose themselves or family members to the virus. Some are even immune compromised and are not willing to risk possibly killing a family member over working an 8-hour retail job with the public. While many people who have been working through the pandemic, myself included, are tired with the way major corporations have been treating their workers. Many people do not want to work for minimum wage at a retail job, that will hardly make their rent payments. According to the World Population Review, unemployment benefits range from 235 to 823 dollars a week. Unemployment pays more than a minimum wage retail job. Why would people want to go back to work to make less, when they are at more of a risk at not meeting their rent. Doesn’t that seem backwards? Shouldn’t our paychecks allow us to make our rent and not have to choose to struggle to live?
With the continuous rise of influx of people moving to Portland, rent will only continue to rise. We need to pay our workers more, have a living wage that meets the cost of living. Corporate America needs to change. We need to continue to voice our opinions, protest peacefully, and demand better wages.
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