The principal deputy assistant secretary for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Demetria McCain weighs in on the ongoing rise of evictions.
As rents increase across the nation, eviction filings have soared over 50% above pre-pandemic levels in some cities. With pandemic-related protections and resources ending, many families are finding themselves facing potential homelessness. TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams talked to Demetria McCain, the principal deputy assistant secretary for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who gives more insight into the problem.
The following is a transcript of their conversation.
Eboni K. Williams [00:00:04] The number of legal filings to evict people from their homes is up by 50% since before the pandemic. That’s all according to the Eviction Lab, which tracks data across the country. Some of the hardest-hit cities include Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, St. Paul, Nashville and Phoenix.
The increase in filings can be attributed to an end of the eviction moratorium, which was put in place during the pandemic. Now some tenants are unable to pay their current plus the back rent. Combine that with low wages and inflation, and more and more people are finding themselves homeless.
Joining me now to address the issue is Demetria McCain. She’s the principal deputy assistant secretary for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Demetria, thank you so much for joining us here at theGrio. Now, the Biden administration applauds the eviction moratorium’s ability to prevent a spike in homelessness during the peak of the pandemic, especially in 2021. And it was effective there.
But many are saying that it just delayed the inevitable while not really doing the work to address the deeper issue and cause, because we see so many families still struggling. What’s the office’s reaction to that critique?
Demetria McCain [00:01:24] Well, I mean, the information that you reported is exactly right, because we are truly at a pivotal place right now. Things were bad before the pandemic. Things are bad now. But I must say that some of the work that the Biden-Harris administration did during the pandemic certainly helped a lot of people from becoming homeless and also aided in helping people get into homes when they were in a homeless situation.
We’re in a really pivotal position right now. Some of the work that we did during the pandemic included things such as our eviction prevention program. Now, that sounds like a lofty, kind of nebulous type of idea. But let me say that when someone has legal assistance when they go to court on these issues, it’s tremendously helpful. I mean, the outcomes tend to be more mutually beneficial.
Those resolutions, both for the tenant and for the landlord, and that’s helped over 13, thousands and thousands of households, most of whom actually are households who are Black. That’s the kind of work that the Biden-Harris administration is trying to continue. Matter of fact, in the fiscal ’24 budget package, we’re actually seeking billions of dollars so that we can kind of continue some of these types of supports that have aided people in the past. So this is a very pivotal moment. You’re absolutely right.
Williams [00:02:47] Now, Ms. McCain, I’m not sure if you’re familiar, but one of the things I have done here on my show is critique the Biden-Harris administration for sometimes doing good policy work but failing to message that to the appropriate voter base, basically failing to convince Black voters specifically that this administration is making a difference in their day-to-day life. I don’t think they’re doing a great job of that.
One of the things I think the administration, and President Biden specifically, has done very well is the appointment of Black people, and Black women in particular, into very important positions of power and policy. One of those most important appointments, of course, I’m talking about your boss, Marcia Fudge, the HUD secretary. Can you speak to what Secretary Fudge is doing specifically to make housing in this crisis better for Black Americans?
McCain [00:03:36] Well, I tell you what, Secretary Fudge stays outside of the building in communities, talking to real people with real issues on the ground. And she’s charged us, the folks who work for her, to do the exact same thing. So you’re exactly right. There’s a lot that we’ve done, and we’d love to get the word out more. We’re happy to be on this show.
One example is the supports that we’re doing as it relates to people who are homeless. There is a growing body of people who are homeless, and we have lots of supports to help with that, including an emergency voucher protection type of subsidies that we have. She’s doing a lot of work on that end. We’re doing work that she’s announced very recently that the public will see as it relates to people who are trying to find housing who may have a criminal record.
So those are just an example of the types of things that we’re doing in community. And it’s really important for folks to understand, to your point, these types of things that we’re doing. We’re trying to get these things done as quickly as possible, but some things do take time. And importantly, I’ve got to say that with the eviction crisis, Secretary Fudge joined with the head of the Department of Justice and the head of Treasury a good while ago to send a letter to states and localities. Because people don’t realize that eviction laws and eviction procedures are really often handled at the state level. You’ll have property codes and statutes and things of that nature.
But many of us here in the administration have our own lived experiences. I, for one, was a legal service attorney working in one of the most impoverished areas of Washington, D.C., many years ago. So I saw up front what these eviction types of things would do, and I saw up front myself the help that some of the clients had when they were able to walk into that courtroom with someone like myself, like a legal service attorney, which is why this eviction prevention grant program is so very important.
Williams [00:05:31] Thank you for that, Ms. McCain. Very important there that the people get that connection. Now, the stock of affordable housing in the country is dwindling. It has been dwindling for a very long time. We know it’s harder and harder to get on programs like Section 8.
Those wait lists have always been long, but there’s sometimes years in the backlog. Tell us a bit about how that program — a lot of people think Section 8 is the magic answer — talk about how that program is being addressed.
McCain [00:05:56] We actually have had an opportunity because of funding that we got from Congress to issue more vouchers than ever. It has been true for many years that a good number of people who qualify to get one of these housing voucher program-type of subsidies, only one-fourth of those people ever get it because of the lack of vouchers that are out there. And so you’re right.
The people have been on waiting lists for a good period of time. But with this new infusion of funding, we’ve been able to get to the local housing authorities more vouchers than we have in the past. And we certainly hope that we’re able to do that as we look to Congress to adopt our fiscal ’24 budget request, actually.
Williams [00:06:38] Indeed. All right, Demetria McCain, I want you to stay with me. Got more questions for you up next. We want to address how people right now are in danger of being evicted and what they can do to help keep a roof over their heads. That’s next. Stay with us. You’re watching theGrio.
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