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hshankle's review against another edition
Not my style of writing, and a lot of going back and forth between different stories that made it difficult to follow any one situation fully
magpie_cartwheel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
taymoen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
bookph1le's review against another edition
5.0
One of the saddest, most devastating and heartbreaking books I've ever read. I don't feel like I have adequate words to express what a profound effect this book had on me. It's one everyone should read, especially those who know little about poverty or have had no experience with it, and most certainly those who think lifting oneself out of poverty is just a matter of effort and will.
cdjdhj's review against another edition
4.0
My husband and I have had the goal, for several years now, of buying a second home as rental property. Because of this, I was interested to read the book Evicted - Poverty and Profit in the American City, when I saw it offered as a review choice of Blogging for Books. This fascinating book follows the poverty- stricken tenants of two landlords in some of the poorest inner-city neighborhoods of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
America’s poorest citizens are paying more than half of their income on often substandard and even dangerous housing and eviction has become a common event. This book gives a close-up and personal look at those on both side of the housing crisis for the poor as well as the laws and public policy that have unwittingly made the problem worse.
The book follows eight individuals and families who, for various reasons, are living on the edge of society including a single mother trying to feed and raise two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying rent; a gentle nurse whose life goes downhill when he becomes addicted first to pain killers and then heroin; a man with no legs who tries to work his way out of debt and look after a neighborhood full of boys that no one else seems to care about and a young mentally ill woman who opens her rundown home to a neighbor in need. Home may be “where the heart is” but for these people it is also squalid, dangerous and over-priced. Their fates lie in the hands of two inner-city entrepreneur landlords who can be empathetic and compassionate but are more often impatient, uncaring and quick to evict tenants who fall behind on rent.
This book is more than just the sad story of poverty stricken individuals and families who have made poor decisions and now can’t seem to get their lives back on track. This is the story of an entire segment of our American population who appear to be totally without hope or understanding of how to make their situation better. Additionally, the old conservative, American virtues of hard-work and thrift, don’t seem to have any impact on these people. They are stuck in an endless “catch-22” from which very few escape. Take for example, the story of a young single mother of three, who had a full-time job at a restaurant. The young woman was making her rent and even putting a bit aside in the hopes of going to school and becoming a nurse. Then as the economy turned down in the mid-2000s, the woman’s work hours were cut from five days a week to one. Fearing eviction from her squalid, run-down, over-priced apartment and desperate for money to pay her rent and buy new shoes for her son, she goes along with a friend and cousin who rob a store. When she is caught, she is given the toughest sentence the judge can hand down. When she gets out of prison, the felony conviction will make it nearly impossible to find a job and a decent place to live. Without the hope of an income and the security of a safe and healthy place to live, this woman, and many other like her are destined to become homeless and desperate again.
The book points out, that at least in Milwaukee, government rent assistance programs have little impact on the poor. Statics for 1991-2013, cited in the book, show that only about eleven percent of “renter households reporting a housing cost burden in excess of 100 percent of family income receive rent assistance, which may be ongoing or a single occasion. Only five percent received assistance with paying for utilities. Further, fifty-one percent of poor renting families were spending at least half of their income on housing costs and one-quarter were spending over 70 percent" (343-344).
One would think that rents in the the mostly inner-city areas where the very poor reside would be considerably less than more affluent areas of the city, yet rents in the poor areas are often as much or more than in more desirable places. Ironically, government rent subsidies have allowed landlords to push the limit on rents. The landlord also explains that rents are high because many of their low-income tenants tend to damage or destroy property, yet, in the stories in the books, the landlords fail again and again to correct dangerous, unsanitary and unhealthy conditions in their properties. Often the tenants will try to exert leverage by not paying rent until problems are fixed, but this plays into the landlord’s hands by allowing them to tack on late fees that put the poor tenants further and further behind and ultimately lead, in most cases, to the tenant being evicted.
Eviction takes a toll on the human spirit. Those with eviction records have about double the rate of clinical depression and even suicides. Losing a home and possessions often leads to job loss. Children of eviction experience school moves and interruptions in their education that many never recover from. An eviction record often leads to denial of government housing and food assistance, increased material hardship from loss of possessions, increased debt, relocation to worse housing in more dangerous neighborhoods, decline in health and homelessness.
The book profiles two women who meet in a homeless shelter after they have been evicted. The two, both single mothers, decided to become roommates and pool their resources in the hopes of being about to afford a better place in a better neighborhood. After looking at, applying for and then being rejected by landlords of 89 apartments, one landlord decides to give the women a chance. The apartment is big and clean and in a better part of town than they have ever lived in. For a few weeks, the women cannot believe their good fortune at living in such a nice place, but then a son of one of the women gets in trouble at school. He kicks a teacher and then runs home. After the incident is reported and the police come to the apartment, the landlord gives the women a notice of eviction, thrusting them into homelessness again within a matter of weeks. Having the police come to an apartment, no matter what the reason, almost ensure eviction. Because of this, domestic violence, drug dealing and other crimes go on unchecked because renters don’t dare call the police.
The book points out that “the annual income of the landlord of perhaps the worst trailer park in the fourth-poorest city in America is thirty times that of his tenants working full-time for minimum wage and 55 times the annual income of his tenants receiving welfare or social security” (308). Desmond explains that the failure previous public initiatives to provide housing for the poor, such as the massive public housing projects of the 1950s and 1960s, lead to the current system which relies private landlords in a largely self-regulating private housing market. Landlords often know how to profit from the ironies and inefficiencies in the current system. Some landlords look to rent solely in the inner-city where they can buy properties cheap and rent them high and provide minimal maintenance. If one tenant doesn’t pay, simply evict them because there is always another person or family in desperate need of a place to live. As the author explains, there is a lot of money to be made off the poor. The ‘hood is good [for business].” (306).
This isn’t to say that all landlord are always heartless, cruel and exploitative. In Desmond’s book, he tells of landlords that sometimes buy good and Christmas gifts for down-on-their-luck tenants. Some turn a blind eye when one evicted tenant with no place to go, moves in with another tenant in the same complex. Landlords are business people who provide needed housing, but also have to provide a enough of a working margin to provide income for themselves and their families, however, when push comes to shove, it is the landlord who has the knowledge and means to manipulate the system in their favor.
In the epilogue of his book, Desmond explains that “the home is the center of life. It is a refuge from the grind of work, the pressure of school and the menace of the streets” (291). Home is where our civic life begins, where we plant our roots and learn to work together for a common good. America is touted as the place where one can better him or herself, but that is really possible only where there is a stable home, yet so many in our society, like those profiled in this book, find themselves in a place where stability in housing seems like an impossible dream.
This book does provide an important and illuminating look into the housing crisis faced by many in our society. This used to be a problem unique to the very poor of our inner cities, but as the economic downturn of 2008-2009 proved, more and more middle class families now know what it is like to be evicted. This excellent book allows the reader to look at this problem through the eyes of those who live it, and wonder if it might really be that “there but for the grace of God, go I.” It was a worthwhile read for me, both as a potential landlord, and as the citizen of a free society that promises “liberty and justice for all.”
I give this book four out of five stars. **** I received this book free of charge from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.
America’s poorest citizens are paying more than half of their income on often substandard and even dangerous housing and eviction has become a common event. This book gives a close-up and personal look at those on both side of the housing crisis for the poor as well as the laws and public policy that have unwittingly made the problem worse.
The book follows eight individuals and families who, for various reasons, are living on the edge of society including a single mother trying to feed and raise two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying rent; a gentle nurse whose life goes downhill when he becomes addicted first to pain killers and then heroin; a man with no legs who tries to work his way out of debt and look after a neighborhood full of boys that no one else seems to care about and a young mentally ill woman who opens her rundown home to a neighbor in need. Home may be “where the heart is” but for these people it is also squalid, dangerous and over-priced. Their fates lie in the hands of two inner-city entrepreneur landlords who can be empathetic and compassionate but are more often impatient, uncaring and quick to evict tenants who fall behind on rent.
This book is more than just the sad story of poverty stricken individuals and families who have made poor decisions and now can’t seem to get their lives back on track. This is the story of an entire segment of our American population who appear to be totally without hope or understanding of how to make their situation better. Additionally, the old conservative, American virtues of hard-work and thrift, don’t seem to have any impact on these people. They are stuck in an endless “catch-22” from which very few escape. Take for example, the story of a young single mother of three, who had a full-time job at a restaurant. The young woman was making her rent and even putting a bit aside in the hopes of going to school and becoming a nurse. Then as the economy turned down in the mid-2000s, the woman’s work hours were cut from five days a week to one. Fearing eviction from her squalid, run-down, over-priced apartment and desperate for money to pay her rent and buy new shoes for her son, she goes along with a friend and cousin who rob a store. When she is caught, she is given the toughest sentence the judge can hand down. When she gets out of prison, the felony conviction will make it nearly impossible to find a job and a decent place to live. Without the hope of an income and the security of a safe and healthy place to live, this woman, and many other like her are destined to become homeless and desperate again.
The book points out, that at least in Milwaukee, government rent assistance programs have little impact on the poor. Statics for 1991-2013, cited in the book, show that only about eleven percent of “renter households reporting a housing cost burden in excess of 100 percent of family income receive rent assistance, which may be ongoing or a single occasion. Only five percent received assistance with paying for utilities. Further, fifty-one percent of poor renting families were spending at least half of their income on housing costs and one-quarter were spending over 70 percent" (343-344).
One would think that rents in the the mostly inner-city areas where the very poor reside would be considerably less than more affluent areas of the city, yet rents in the poor areas are often as much or more than in more desirable places. Ironically, government rent subsidies have allowed landlords to push the limit on rents. The landlord also explains that rents are high because many of their low-income tenants tend to damage or destroy property, yet, in the stories in the books, the landlords fail again and again to correct dangerous, unsanitary and unhealthy conditions in their properties. Often the tenants will try to exert leverage by not paying rent until problems are fixed, but this plays into the landlord’s hands by allowing them to tack on late fees that put the poor tenants further and further behind and ultimately lead, in most cases, to the tenant being evicted.
Eviction takes a toll on the human spirit. Those with eviction records have about double the rate of clinical depression and even suicides. Losing a home and possessions often leads to job loss. Children of eviction experience school moves and interruptions in their education that many never recover from. An eviction record often leads to denial of government housing and food assistance, increased material hardship from loss of possessions, increased debt, relocation to worse housing in more dangerous neighborhoods, decline in health and homelessness.
The book profiles two women who meet in a homeless shelter after they have been evicted. The two, both single mothers, decided to become roommates and pool their resources in the hopes of being about to afford a better place in a better neighborhood. After looking at, applying for and then being rejected by landlords of 89 apartments, one landlord decides to give the women a chance. The apartment is big and clean and in a better part of town than they have ever lived in. For a few weeks, the women cannot believe their good fortune at living in such a nice place, but then a son of one of the women gets in trouble at school. He kicks a teacher and then runs home. After the incident is reported and the police come to the apartment, the landlord gives the women a notice of eviction, thrusting them into homelessness again within a matter of weeks. Having the police come to an apartment, no matter what the reason, almost ensure eviction. Because of this, domestic violence, drug dealing and other crimes go on unchecked because renters don’t dare call the police.
The book points out that “the annual income of the landlord of perhaps the worst trailer park in the fourth-poorest city in America is thirty times that of his tenants working full-time for minimum wage and 55 times the annual income of his tenants receiving welfare or social security” (308). Desmond explains that the failure previous public initiatives to provide housing for the poor, such as the massive public housing projects of the 1950s and 1960s, lead to the current system which relies private landlords in a largely self-regulating private housing market. Landlords often know how to profit from the ironies and inefficiencies in the current system. Some landlords look to rent solely in the inner-city where they can buy properties cheap and rent them high and provide minimal maintenance. If one tenant doesn’t pay, simply evict them because there is always another person or family in desperate need of a place to live. As the author explains, there is a lot of money to be made off the poor. The ‘hood is good [for business].” (306).
This isn’t to say that all landlord are always heartless, cruel and exploitative. In Desmond’s book, he tells of landlords that sometimes buy good and Christmas gifts for down-on-their-luck tenants. Some turn a blind eye when one evicted tenant with no place to go, moves in with another tenant in the same complex. Landlords are business people who provide needed housing, but also have to provide a enough of a working margin to provide income for themselves and their families, however, when push comes to shove, it is the landlord who has the knowledge and means to manipulate the system in their favor.
In the epilogue of his book, Desmond explains that “the home is the center of life. It is a refuge from the grind of work, the pressure of school and the menace of the streets” (291). Home is where our civic life begins, where we plant our roots and learn to work together for a common good. America is touted as the place where one can better him or herself, but that is really possible only where there is a stable home, yet so many in our society, like those profiled in this book, find themselves in a place where stability in housing seems like an impossible dream.
This book does provide an important and illuminating look into the housing crisis faced by many in our society. This used to be a problem unique to the very poor of our inner cities, but as the economic downturn of 2008-2009 proved, more and more middle class families now know what it is like to be evicted. This excellent book allows the reader to look at this problem through the eyes of those who live it, and wonder if it might really be that “there but for the grace of God, go I.” It was a worthwhile read for me, both as a potential landlord, and as the citizen of a free society that promises “liberty and justice for all.”
I give this book four out of five stars. **** I received this book free of charge from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.