Laws Creating Disparities

Written by: Ava Lombardi

For many, secure and affordable housing is regarded as a fundamental necessity. For others, however, housing stability is a far-off dream. As of 2023, more Americans than ever are experiencing homelessness, with the country seeing a 12.1% increase in its homeless population. Officials attribute this crisis to a variety of factors: country-wide shortages of affordable housing, rising rent burdens and low incomes to name a few. Despite some efforts to reduce these disparities, too many individuals and families remain victims of insufficient protections of their health and safety.

According to 42 U.S.C §11302, the federal government defines homelessness as “an individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground.” Despite this classification, many parts of the country have adopted their own understandings of what constitutes homelessness, which have translated into laws perpetuating such inequities.

For example, in Columbus, Ohio, there are no ordinances prohibiting individuals or families from living in their cars. Seeking habitation in one’s vehicle is legally an option in the city, which excludes these individuals from accessing resources that could help them secure stable housing. While some residents believe the city should consider ordinances dealing with people living in their cars, critics argue these policies are not dissimilar from efforts to criminalize homelessness. Thus, those sleeping in their cars continue to be overlooked.

Susan Fugett, a clinical oncology social worker at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, believes the answer to finding unhoused people stable shelter is not to displace them, but rather to offer them alternative options.

“[Living in one’s car] is an unfortunate form of shelter, but it is a form of shelter. It keeps people safe, it gives them protection,” she said. “By no means is it ideal, but you have to consider what it’s doing for people before taking it away. Kicking them out may mean they disappear from a visibility standpoint in a community setting, but they don’t go away. They still need help.”

The January 2024 point-in-time count, conducted by Community Shelter Board, noted a 1.8% increase in homelessness in Columbus from the previous year, an all-time high for the area. Experts attribute the rise to a decreasing number of available apartments and the slow development of affordable housing, as well as deteriorating housing infrastructure. Out of the 2,380 people experiencing homelessness in the city, 514 are living outside in spaces not meant for habitation. Forty-two percent of this population is female, and 53% are Black or African American.

Fugett does not believe this data is comprehensive, as she says it is not representative of people on disability income, or those reliant on insurance that replaces lost income when someone becomes unable to work. Most of the metastatic breast cancer patients she sees are on disability income that does not match up with flexible and rising housing costs, nor the cost of treatment.

“The average income for a single female on Social Security disability is around $1,400 a month. If you have children, you can get around $50 in supplemental income,” Fugett said. “So the average income for a single mother and a child is $2,000, and the average cost of housing in Columbus for a three-bedroom is $1,382. The housing market is simply not built to support this population.”

Housing inequities not only impact those seeking shelter but can also destabilize those who already have housing. Millions of tenants who miss rent payments are evicted each year, resulting in a loss of possessions, savings and security for their families. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem even more, with women, people of color and households with children at an especially high risk of being evicted.

A study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2020 found that in at least 17 states, Black female renters were filed against for eviction at double the rate of white renters. This is particularly apparent in certain parts of the country: as of that year, just under 500 in every 10,000 Black female renters in Massachusetts received an eviction notice, compared to almost 420 in every 10,000 Black male renters and 200 in every 10,000 white renters.

As a result of these disparities, Black female tenants are continually penalized by policies that deny applicants with prior evictions, blocking them from housing opportunities and often leaving them homeless. Despite federal protections like the Fair Housing Act, marginalized communities are being discriminated against and left with nothing.

Being evicted does not just affect one’s bank account. Evidence suggests that eviction can have negative impacts on the wellbeing of the renter: adults who have been evicted have worse physical health than non-evicted adults, and counties with high eviction rates report more accidental drug- and alcohol-related deaths each year. For those already struggling with their health – renters facing a cancer diagnosis, for instance – being evicted can trigger setbacks to their treatment and recovery. And for those with families, eviction puts their children at a higher risk of health challenges and hospitalization.

So, what can be done to combat these country-wide inequities? In regards to helping underserved cancer patients, Fugett advocates for a better understanding of the underlying causations of housing and healthcare disparities.

“Cancer makes nothing better. When [President Joe] Biden took office, the National Association on Social Workers sent over a blueprint outlining the points of concern amongst constituents, and housing stability was one of them,” she said. “Until we are willing to address the systemic racism, the rising housing causes, then we will stay in the space we are in. We have to advocate for these concerns and start seeing them as basic human rights.”

State governments can protect low-income residents from housing instability by taking a number of actions. Steps to reducing eviction rates may include increasing the fee that landlords must pay in order to file an eviction, as well as providing social and financial support to high-risk renters as a proactive measure. Additionally, supporting state and federal bills curbing corporate ownership of low-income residences can prohibit these businesses from buying out affordable housing spaces and thus prevent people from being displaced.

Addressing housing instability and systemic disparities requires collective action at the local, state and federal levels. By viewing housing as a basic need and advocating for policies that prioritize equity, we can ensure that no person has to choose between their health and their home.

“Bringing attention to these concerns and helping administrations understand them is vital for us as caregivers,” Fugett said. “If we stop looking at the housing and healthcare crises as political issues and start looking at them from a humanistic approach, we will have the opportunity to move forward.”