DeSantis should extend eviction moratorium
I am an immunocompromised patient, cancer survivor, and bone marrow transplant recipient. I’m also a husband, and an unemployed Floridian. I am now one of the millions of people across the country who cannot afford to pay my rent.
I have been out of work since March 15 due to coronavirus restrictions. My wife is a bus driver and was laid off when she came back from spring break. Because I am immunocompromised, I cannot drive Uber anymore. My doctor has recommended that I selfquarantine.
We are struggling right now. I will have no choice but to go and find a job, risking my life unless the government intervenes. We have bills we must pay — car insurance, utilities, rent.
I am left with an impossible choice: put my life at risk by returning to work, or leave my bills unpaid. Individuals like me shouldn’t be forced into this situation. We need our government officials to step in and extend and create policies that will ensure our safety, health, and economic security.
Unemployment is on the rise across the state. Latinx people are nearly twice as likely as white people to have lost their jobs amid shutdowns across the country. Black people are also more likely to have been laid off. And racial disparities in income and wealth will likely worsen as a result of the economic downturn.
Twenty percent of Latinx adults and 16 percent of black people report being laid off or furloughed since the outbreak began in the United States, compared with 11 percent of white people and 12 percent of workers of other races.
Florida already was in a housing state of emergency before COVID-19. Orlando was the most difficult place in the country to find affordable housing. And now, with the largest recession the country has seen in recent history, housing security must be central to any recovery effort.
The first step is to extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium for additional months, and the second step is to cancel rent and mortgages so we are not plunged into deeper economic hardship.
The $1,200 stimulus check covered nearly one month’s rent, and it was a onetime payment that only my wife received. I was on Social Security last year and I haven’t received it. We are trying to get more resources. We’ve called unemployment, the governor’s office, our elected representatives, and have told everyone we talk to that we need help now, and we hear over and over there is nothing they can do for us. There are too many people who are in our situation.
Along with tenants and homeowners from across the state who are a part of Organize Florida and the Florida Housing Justice Alliance, I am calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium beyond May 17 for the duration of the crisis and for the period of recovery.
Some landlords say that they need to evict tenants even during a public health emergency. If I am evicted because I am no longer physically able to work due to COVID-19, it will be devastating for my health and my family.
There are many in my position. If the government does not act soon, our communities will be devastated during this crisis and for many years to come. The time to act is now, my health and my family’s health depends on it.