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So, about 6-ish years ago, I lost my long-term place to live. I had been there for years and I was given no notice (there's a legal reason they could do that but it's long & I don't want to go into it). Because I had no notice, and I was poor, I spent the next 2 years bouncing around. A friend would take me in with no notice, that situation would become untenable, I'd have to find the first place I could afford, that place would bottom out, another friend would have to take me in, rinse repeat.
In the middle of all this, I applied for low-income housing. Let me tell you why this is not a solution for people with low incomes. More than 4 years after I applied, I finally heard something from them today. And it's not to say that I finally got in. No, it's to say that one of their properties is changing owners, so I'll have to go on a *separate* waiting list if I want to still be considered for that property.
I had completely forgotten that I had even applied for low-income housing. Fortunately, for me, I managed to bust my ass enough to make just enough money to afford this shitty little apartment I found with a landlord who was (at the time) a real person I could talk to and explain things to, and not a management company who has to follow "policy".
Otherwise, I might have spent the last 4 years couch-surfing still (and wearing out my welcome with friends all over town), waiting for the city to get back to me with an apartment I can afford.
This is why poor people stay poor. There are just not enough resources to help them get out of a system that is designed to make them stay in it.
In the middle of all this, I applied for low-income housing. Let me tell you why this is not a solution for people with low incomes. More than 4 years after I applied, I finally heard something from them today. And it's not to say that I finally got in. No, it's to say that one of their properties is changing owners, so I'll have to go on a *separate* waiting list if I want to still be considered for that property.
I had completely forgotten that I had even applied for low-income housing. Fortunately, for me, I managed to bust my ass enough to make just enough money to afford this shitty little apartment I found with a landlord who was (at the time) a real person I could talk to and explain things to, and not a management company who has to follow "policy".
Otherwise, I might have spent the last 4 years couch-surfing still (and wearing out my welcome with friends all over town), waiting for the city to get back to me with an apartment I can afford.
This is why poor people stay poor. There are just not enough resources to help them get out of a system that is designed to make them stay in it.
