February 10, 2022

The Guardian’s analysis of 20 US urban areas found that between 2016 and 2020, deaths among people experiencing homelessness increased by 77 percent. This surge can be attributed to the increase in people experiencing homelessness and the growing dangers they face. “Homelessness is lethal. We’re not going to be able to solve this without solving homelessness,” said Margot Kushel, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. 

During the pandemic, the housing market has become increasingly competitive, with more than 6 million homes selling in 2021 despite high prices. The median selling price for a home in November was nearly 25 percent higher than in February 2020. Meanwhile, the total available housing stock fell below 300,000 nationwide in early January—less than half of the inventory available before the pandemic. This is crowding the rental market, driving up rents, and stressing housing support programs.  

In the wake of the Marshall Fire, which destroyed or damaged nearly 1,100 homes in Louisville, Colorado, and displaced thousands, people without renter’s insurance are having the hardest time finding help. “I always thought that if the landlord had insurance that anything would be covered,” said Stephanie Valdez. “I was never educated, I guess, regarding the importance of renter’s insurance to cover your belongings.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that more than 30 percent of applications for disaster assistance have come from survivors of the fire. 

Last year, Tampa Bay experienced the highest rent increase (24 percent) of any metropolitan area in the nation. Price hikes, coupled with stagnant wages, have created housing instability for many locals. Now, many single people and families with low wages are at risk of losing their homes. Rent increases particularly threaten month-to-month renters, who can be evicted with just 15 days’ notice. “Eviction is a cause, not just a symptom, of poverty in America,” said Emily Lemmerman, a researcher with Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.