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The federal moratorium on evictions just ended and the sequel to the CARES Act is still on hold. We at Open Table Nashville want to speak to the reality of what this means for many Nashvillians. (Thread)
Based on our organization’s own counts, 20,000 of our friends were already experiencing homelessness in America’s “It” City prior to the March 3 tornado, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and now the economic recession.
There were 3,964 Metro Nashville Public School students experiencing homelessness in the 2019-2020 school year, up 15 percent from the year prior. Rent is already far too expensive for many in our community, and affordable housing simply does not exist.
U.S. Census Data reports that 31% of Nashvillians either missed last month’s rent or mortgage and have little to no confidence they can pay next month’s rent. https://www.census.gov/householdpulsedata
Worse still, 52% of Tennesseans may currently be at risk of experiencing an eviction per a recent report. https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzRhYjg2NzAtMGE1MC00NmNjLTllOTMtYjM2NjFmOTA4ZjMyIiwidCI6Ijc5MGJmNjk2LTE3NDYtNGE4OS1hZjI0LTc4ZGE5Y2RhZGE2MSIsImMiOjN9
Nationwide, more and more people are using credit cards to pay their rent. The year 2020 has further exacerbated a local economy, housing sector, and safety-net system that is already overburdened, underfunded, and inequitable. https://www.wsj.com/articles/out-of-work-apartment-tenants-putting-monthly-rent-on-plastic-11586966251
Here at Open Table Nashville, we are already seeing the very real effects of the current economic turmoil on our community, as increased requests for rent assistance continue to pour in.
We want to highlight some resources and call on our community to take action:
Know your rights. Some news sources are reporting that although the national moratorium has ended, Davidson County will not start processing eviction filings until August 31st. https://www.wsmv.com/news/evictions-may-start-again-with-the-end-of-protections/article_b31524fe-d147-11ea-a57b-5b069750ddc6.html
We know that many landlords do and will try to evict their tenants illegally. We encourage people to review their rights as a tenant and to contact @LASMTC, Tennessee Fair Housing, or @tnimmigrant for free legal advice. https://las.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Tenants-Rights-Final-General.pdf
Nashville Metro Council will vote tonight on a last-minute resolution to allot $10 million in CARES Act Funding to be allocated to rent and mortgage assistance for Nashvillians. Send your council member an email TODAY asking them to vote in support of this resolution tonight.
As always, Open Table Nashville exists to journey with those most marginalized in our community. Please check out our Where To Turn In Nashville Guide online ( http://www.wttin.org ) or email us at [email protected] to be connected with community resources.
We are committed to doing all we can to prevent unjust and unnecessary evictions and to continue creating a Nashville that is just and affordable for all.
