EMMA ATHENA
On dangerous ground
Stemming evictions is the first step to preventing homelessness, but in light of the pandemic, will it be enough?
By Emma Athena
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RUY AND people remain depenMEAGAN dent on such relief ARANGO, funds to pay rent and organizers for No Evictions Without utilities, among other Representation, are household necessities building off the like food and medinational right-tocounsel movement, cines. (It’s unclear as seeking guaranteed of press time if a new legal representation benefits package will in Boulder’s eviction court. be passed by Congress, and what it will include.) For many who remain un- or underemployed, coupling the revival of evictions with this additional loss of income draws the prospect of homelessness closer than ever. It’s an alarming confluence of events, says Boulder City Council member Adam Swetlik, considering financial hardship is the primary reason people in the county become unhoused. Rental assistance has already been the number-one request from Boulder County
This article starts a multi-part series analyzing how COVID-19 has changed the conversation around homelessness solutions. Reporting for this series was made possible, in part, thanks to the Solutions Journalism Network.
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he date of Aug. 11 has been looming in Ruy Arango’s mind for months. It’s an expiration date — the day when the last of the state’s emergency policies protecting Coloradans from eviction will expire. The housing-justice advocate kneads his knuckles, leans forward and says, “We are looking at an eviction crisis the likes of which this country, I don’t think, has seen yet.” In Colorado, the end of Governor Jared Polis’ eviction moratorium and its subsequent eviction-filing extensions have coincided with a massive reduction in federal aid provided to people via the CARES Act. On July 31, the Act’s $600-a-week unemployment benefits stopped, though many AUGUST 6, 2020
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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE