CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Worried and confused, Tanica Session in Clayton County is desperate for help as the federally mandated eviction moratorium expires.
After her mother died last year, Session was left with just her disability income.
“The eviction protection helped keep a roof over my head while I tried to work with different rental assistance agencies,” Session said.
She said she’s had no luck getting help and now owes more than $10,000 in rent.
On top of that, she said she has an underlying health condition, putting her at high risk with the Delta variant spreading.
“Being homeless and catching the Delta, that’s my biggest concern,” she said.
Tom Smith is a finance professor and economist at Emory University.
He said if people like Session were to become homeless, it impacts the workforce right now and creates wider employment gaps.
“There’s lots of evidence that there are negative healthcare effects, which is why I believe the CDC issued the moratorium in the first place. It’s also more difficult, without a permanent address, to get work and retain that work,” Smith said.
Democrats said little of the $46 billion in pandemic rental assistance passed by congress has made it into the hands of renters like Session, which she said is desperately needed right now.
President Biden is calling on state and local governments to immediately do all that’s possible to get the money out.
“I feel like I’m not being helped. I feel like I’m just going to be thrown out in the streets,” Session said.
Session said she hasn’t gotten an eviction letter yet, but with the moratorium now expired, she’s running out of options.
“I just have to leave it up to God. That’s all I can do,” Session said.
