Editorial roundup

Dec. 8

San Antonio Express-News Evictions and COVID-19

As COVID-19 became the dominant presence in American life in 2020, most of us resigned ourselves to a year absent of familiar trappings, hoping the reward for enduring these difficult times would be a return to normalcy in 2021.

But the pandemic was never going to magically disappear by tearing a page from the calendar. For most of us, Jan. 1, 2021, will look like Dec. 31, 2020. But not all. Unless Congress takes action, millions of Americans unable to pay rent because of the pandemic and the economic crisis it set off are in danger of losing their homes when New Year’s Eve becomes New Year’s Day.

This matters for our health and economy. Research has shown evictions contribute to the spread of COVID-19, as it’s hard to shelter in place if one lacks shelter, just as it is hard to limit contacts if one has to live with extended family and friends. It’s in our national interest to keep people in their homes.

In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national moratorium on evictions as a public health measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The moratorium expires Dec. 31. …

An August report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition warned the United States may be on the verge of the worst housing crisis in its history, with 30 million to 40 million people facing eviction without “robust and swift intervention.”

Congress shouldn’t need this or any other study to understand the economic devastation if it fails to pass a new relief package extending the eviction moratorium, as well as unemployment benefits and assistance to small businesses, including restaurants and bars. The Great Recession is barely in our rearview mirror.

While negotiations are promising, nearly two weeks before Christmas, people across this land are living with the uncertainty and fear that they will be uprooted from their homes. Whatever the time of year or the reasons, evictions are heartbreaking acts, sending parents and children into the streets, packed shelters or the crowded homes of relatives and friends.

But a layer of cruelty is added for families, already challenged with making it a happy holiday for their children, hearing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” knowing they may be homeless after Christmas.

Beyond the looming humanitarian crisis is the public health threat of newly homeless people carrying the virus to new places they will inhabit or exposing themselves to greater risks, making bleaker an already dark winter.

It would be catastrophic to begin 2021 with an eviction crisis.