High Housing Costs Force Many Employed People Into Homelessness

High Housing Costs Force Many Employed People into Homelessness

In the first installment of a two-part series, correspondent Jessica Gomez travels to Knoxville, Tennessee to speak to people who work full-time jobs but can’t afford the high cost of housing.

THOSE STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. IT’S THE NEW FACE OF HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA. FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING FULL TIME, BUT WITH NOWHERE TO LIVE. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS, NEARLY 19,000 PEOPLE ENTER HOMELESSNESS FOR THE FIRST TIME EACH WEEK, MANY OF THEM UP TO HALF, ACCORDING TO SOME STUDIES, HAVE A JOB IN 2022. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, SAW THE LARGEST RENT GROWTH OF ANY METRO AREA NATIONWIDE. WHILE THE SPIKE IS SLOWING DOWN, MORE THAN HALF OF RENTERS ARE SPENDING 30% OR MORE OF THEIR INCOME ON HOUSING FOR OTHERS, AFFORDING A HOUSE OR APARTMENT IS SIMPLY NO LONGER POSSIBLE. IN THE FIRST OF OUR TWO PART SERIES, OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ TRAVELS TO KNOXVILLE TO TALK TO THOSE AFFECTED. HERE’S AN AIRPORT ORDER. IT’S PAYING $23. QUANISHA TWEEDY, STARTING HER DAY AS AN ONLINE DELIVERY DRIVER IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, SWITCHING BETWEEN APPS, SHE CLOCKS IN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, TURN RIGHT ONTO MUDDY CREEK ROAD. THERE’S A BREAK TO PICK UP HER KIDS FROM SCHOOL. DID YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY WITH MISS JENKINS AND HOMEWORK? USUALLY AT THE LOCAL LIBRARY. ALL RIGHT, GUYS, TIME TO BUCKLE UP, THEN BACK ON THE ROAD. TWEEDY’S KIDS FIVE, NINE AND 14. HER OLDEST WITH SPECIAL NEEDS HELPING TO DELIVER. YES, YOU CAN PLAY YOUR GAME. THEY LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY CAN COME AND HELP ME WITH ORDERS. THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE CAR ALL DAY. IT WASN’T ALWAYS THIS WAY. BEFORE THAT, I WAS A DISTRICT MANAGER AT A NEWSPAPER COMPANY. BUT WHEN THE COMPANY DOWNSIZED, SHE LOST HER JOB AND WAS EVICTED FROM HER. GEORGIA APARTMENT. MOVING HERE WITH PROMISES OF MORE DELIVERY WORK UNTIL SHE CAN FIND A NEW JOB. YOU GOT BOTH CASES OF WATER? I KIND OF THINK I FAILED. HONESTLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT’S THE ECONOMY, BUT IT’S LIKE, YOU KNOW, I WAS TRYING TO SAVE. AND IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY TIME I WAS SAVED, SOMETHING WOULD COME UP. BUT FAILURE ISN’T SOMETHING TWEEDY HAS TIME FOR. SHE AND HER FAMILY WILL WORK INTO THE NIGHT BEFORE STOPPING TO SLEEP IN THEIR CAR, THEIR HOME FOR FOUR MONTHS NOW, I WOULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED THAT WE WOULD BE HOMELESS, NEVER. SHE’S NOT ALONE. KNOXVILLE’S HOMELESS POPULATION, NEARLY DOUBLING SINCE 2018. MORE THAN HALF REPORT BEING EVICTED OR UNABLE TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS PRICES HERE HAVE SKYROCKETED. THE AVERAGE RENT INCREASING MORE THAN 50% OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO WORK AT GAS STATIONS, WAREHOUSES, RETAIL LOCATIONS. AARON REED, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF HOUSING STABILITY. IT’S NOT A KNOXVILLE PROBLEM, BUT IT’S AN AMERICA PROBLEM. SINCE THE DOWNTURN IN 2008, WE’VE BEEN UNDER-BUILDING, AND WE’RE ALSO ON THE RECEIVING END OF THIS MIGRATION TREND WHERE PEOPLE WITH COMPARATIVELY HIGH INCOMES ARE MOVING FROM LARGE CITIES AND TO SMALL AND MIDSIZE TOWNS. AND THAT’S HAVING AN UPWARD EFFECT ON OUR HOUSING COSTS. THE COUNTY’S MAIN SHELTER, KNOX AREA RESCUE MINISTRIES, OVER CAPACITY BY NOVEMBER, AN EXPANDED AREA FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN FULL WITH A WAITING LIST. ABOUT 150 OF THOSE STAYING HERE ARE EMPLOYED. WE RECENTLY HOUSED A LADY WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK WHO WAS STAYING HERE, AND SO FOLKS THAT ARE HIGHLY SKILLED HAVE BACKGROUNDS, WORK HISTORIES, NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD CURRENT RENT PRICES. THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO MAKE SOME MORE COFFEE. JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN, JOLIN HARTNEY WORKS 40 HOURS A WEEK AS A GAS STATION MANAGER. THE MOTHER OF TWO HOMELESS AFTER BEING EVICTED FROM HER APARTMENT THREE YEARS AGO. I WAS PAYING 9.75 FOR A THREE BEDROOM AND LIVED THERE FOR TWO YEARS. NO PROBLEMS. BUT THEN MY BROTHER DIED AND I SPIRALED A LITTLE BIT AND DIDN’T PAY RENT FOR A MONTH AND A HALF TO TRY TO GET HIM BURIED AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND IT JUST, IT JUST ALL WENT DOWNHILL FROM THERE. YOU WILL GIVE THE PROPERTY MANAGER THE BLUE FORM HARTNEY ON THE WAIT LIST FOR PUBLIC HOUSING ASSISTANCE FACILITATED THROUGH KNOXVILLE’S COMMUNITY ACTION COMMITTEE, A SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY THAT ALSO PROVIDES MEALS, TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO THOSE IN NEED. WE ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH OVER 100 FAMILIES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. WE’VE GOT ABOUT 35 ON OUR WAITING LIST, AND IT’S HEARTBREAKING TO TELL SOMEONE WHEN THEY COME IN, YOU KNOW, I’M SO SORRY. WE WILL GET TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ALL RIGHT. STRONG MAN IN THE BACK. I AM WORKING VERY, VERY HARD FOR MY KIDS TRYING TO GET US OUT OF THIS SITUATION. YES. WORKING HARD. QNESHIA TWEEDY SAYS INSPIRED BY THE LIFE, A HOME AND NEW JOB MIGHT BRING. I WANT MY KIDS TO BE LIKE ANY OTHER CHILD, BE ABLE TO ENJOY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, TO HAVE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS, TO EVEN GO AND BE AT FRIENDS HOUSES AFTER SCHOOL. BUT AS DAY TURNS INTO NIGHT AND KNOXVILLE’S TEMPERATURE DIPS INTO THE 30S, BLANKETS, PILLOWS FOR NOW, HOME IS A TRUCK STOP. I KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE KIND OF COLD THE NIGHT PRINCESS. OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE GOING THROUGH A HARD TIME. THEY KEEP SMILES ON THEIR FACES. AND I LOVE THAT ABOUT THEM. THEY HELP ME KEEP FOCUSED BECAUSE THEY DON’T LET THE SITUATION GET TO THEM FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN. GOOD JOB. GOOD NIGHT GUYS. I LOVE YOU. LOVE YOU TOO. IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE. FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JESSICA GOMEZ. NEXT WEEK, A TWIST IN THE TWEEDIE FAMILY’S STORY. AND WE GET A LOOK AT SOME OF THE UNIQUE EFFORTS TO BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN KNOXVILLE.

High Housing Costs Force Many Employed People into Homelessness

In the first installment of a two-part series, correspondent Jessica Gomez travels to Knoxville, Tennessee to speak to people who work full-time jobs but can’t afford the high cost of housing.

Qneshia Tweedy is a mother-of-three who worked as a district manager for a newspaper until the company downsized – leaving her without a job. Now, she works seven days a week as an online delivery worker but doesn’t make enough to make ends meet. Her story is like many others in the country. They work full-time jobs but can’t afford the high cost of housing – forcing them into homelessness. In the first installment of a two-part series, correspondent Jessica Gomez travels to Knoxville, Tennessee to speak to Tweedy and others in need of affordable housing.

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