In Pennsylvania, "Pay Rent or Eat": The Dilemma of Bloodless Households

"The situation is pay the rent or eat," says Sonia Perez, a retired schoolteacher, about her son Xavier.

This thirty-year-old is nevertheless an employee, a forklift driver, "but the last time I opened his fridge, there was only water", his mother remembers.

Inflation and skyrocketing rents and home prices have made the equation difficult for many residents of Dauphin County, home to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, one of the most closely watched swing states in the U.S. presidential campaign.

According to the latest figures from the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, some 16 percent of renters in the county are facing eviction proceedings, one of the highest rates in the state.

Sonia Perez had to deal with a house fire after a short circuit three years ago before the Christian Churches United association provided her with emergency accommodation.

She owned the house but had no insurance. Unable to get it repaired, she sold it for just $30.000.

Of that sum, there is "nothing left," she says. There is no question of buying a house or even an apartment. "I can barely pay the rent" of $275 a month for a two-bedroom in Harrisburg, despite state aid.

Xzavia recently received an eviction notice after falling behind on rent.

A manager at a psychiatric facility, she chose to switch to part-time work after the youngest of her three sons was diagnosed with autism.

"I will never put my job before my children," explains the 33-year-old.

Thanks to the $500 she received from Beahive Affordable Housing Outreach, she was able to stay in her apartment.

"I'm a single mother," she said. "I only have what I earn. So when it comes time to pay rent and bills, there's not much left."

“Our program is needs-based, not income-based,” says Beahive founder Samara Scott, which has allowed the organization to support Xzavia, “who earns too much to qualify for a lot of support.”

A "leaked" secret

She tried to break her lease, but her landlord threatened to sue her for all the rent owed until the end of the lease in April.

"So I'll have to make do until then," she said.

Once released from her commitment, another ordeal awaits Xzavia: the search for a new roof.

At the time, Sonia Perez had to submit around fifty applications before finding an apartment.

“There’s just not enough housing,” Scott said. “Every day, people call me and ask if I know of a place to live.”

"Dauphin County was kind of a hidden gem where prices were still affordable," said Ryan Colquhoun, a partner at Harrisburg Property Management Group, which owns about 2.000 properties.

"But when the (coronavirus) pandemic started, the secret was out," he said, and thousands of people, from Philadelphia but also from New York and Baltimore, headed to central Pennsylvania.

In three years, rents have increased "by 30 to 50%" depending on the city or neighborhood, says Ryan Colquhoun.

"The demand is so great that some landlords who might have been more accommodating before have become inflexible and are seeking evictions" so they can rent for more later, said Michelle Miduri, chief operating officer of the nonprofit Love INC in Hershey, also in Dauphin County.

In addition to emergency financial assistance in the event of a hard time, Love INC also offers, in the event of an impasse, two homes that it owns, for a one-year transition.

Samara Scott and Beahive are currently renovating a house that they will rent to a family on a means-tested basis.

But she is already dreaming of what she calls her hive, a set of containers converted into homes on land she is currently looking for, whose inhabitants will be able to move from tenant to owner status.

Among her reasons for voting for Kamala Harris in the presidential election is public housing. "It's something she supports."

Donald Trump, for his part, intends to improve the real estate supply through deregulation and control of migratory flows.

"My husband said, 'I'm not going to vote. I don't like either candidate,'" Scott laments. "I explained to him that it wasn't really an option."