“Colored communities are hardest hit by the eviction crisis, as they account for 80% of the vulnerable,” according to the National Coalition for Low-Income Housing.
In Atlanta, United Way says 95% of families who help combat evictions are black.
And Latino and black families are constantly reporting low confidence in the ability to pay rent during the pandemic, advocates say.
Jasmine Cruz, of Atlanta, says she lives off borrowed time, like so many others have for rent.
The 25-year-old single mother has been on rent for two months and recently received a notice asking her to pay.
“It’s not easy,” she says. “I’ve been fighting.”
“Kids don’t know how to get over it”
With no other place to call for help, Cruz visited the Thrive Resource Center, which operates in a makeshift office in an apartment building. There he met Monica Delancy, who helps people at risk of being evicted.
“We don’t want you to get to this point,” Delancy told him. “If you have to move, we want you to move with dignity. We want you to move and pack your things and we’ll find you a place. But we don’t want you to be forced out, because kids don’t know how to get over it. Adults they can. Children don’t know how to do it. “
Delancy says she was evicted this time last year: “on a cold day like this, with a Christmas tree.”
Garnell Hodge is also facing eviction. Hodge lost her job in the service industry due to the pandemic and worried about herself and her 9-year-old granddaughter after an eviction notice arrived.
“I don’t have a place to go either, because the places are very high and I don’t have too much income,” he said.
Protip Biswas of United Way says the agency is overwhelmed by requests for help.
“Not only can we not help, funding expires in late December,” he says. “This is the biggest request we have, if there is any way to extend it so we can continue to help families.”
Millions of people are left behind in rent or mortgage payments
CNN’s Lauren Lee contributed to this report.