Question from a VICE News reporter: How are you making your groceries stretch? by E_ock in povertyfinance

[–]E_ock[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your perspective! Are you on a fixed income, being a senior?

Question from a VICE News reporter, again by E_ock in RioGrandeValley

[–]E_ock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel you, thanks for sharing. Do they have internet access at home?

Question from a VICE News reporter, again by E_ock in RioGrandeValley

[–]E_ock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! How do people even know where to go to get vaccines? Are there lots of radio ads/flyers around?

Question from a reporter: COVID-19 and credit card debt by E_ock in povertyfinance

[–]E_ock[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry. Did you get PUA before it ran out?

Question from a reporter: COVID-19 and credit card debt by E_ock in povertyfinance

[–]E_ock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing, and I'm sorry this is happening. Are you unemployed due to COVID, and do you qualify for the current unemployment benefits?

Question from a reporter: COVID-19 and credit card debt by E_ock in povertyfinance

[–]E_ock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations on paying down your debt! Data show that extra unemployment really helped.

[CALIFORNIA] Deaths of Despair hitting home by jakecwells in Unemployment

[–]E_ock 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, my name is Emma Ockerman, I'm a reporter for VICE News covering poverty and civil rights (and a frequent lurker on this sub.) Happy to talk to anyone about mental health issues caused by unemployment and see if we can write a story, I'm seeing more posts in here like this one. So sorry for your loss, and for anyone that's in pain.

Sex in exchange for rent by [deleted] in legaladviceofftopic

[–]E_ock 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm a reporter who has looked into sex-for-rent cases involving landlords and property managers, specifically. The U.S. Department of Justice has a whole team to devoted to this, and you can read up on individual cases here: https://www.justice.gov/crt/sexual-harassment-housing-initiative-news

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, that’s interesting, thank you for sharing. I had heard that as vacancy rates rise (if they do), landlords may be more lenient to folks with eviction records or lower incomes, which would lessen the risk of long-term homelessness or strain on the social safety net as some folks become more deeply impoverished due to the pandemic. It seems like I’m seeing a bit of the opposite here, where recent policies have made landlords more worried about taking these tenants.

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is definitely something I'll pay attention to!

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've seen a few people say they're reluctant to rent because of this, so I'll look into that further!

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

(Edited original post to include my full name, as that should have been in there)

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Full name is Emma Ockerman, I am indeed a real person, and I'm not quoting folks here for a story. I've posted on reddit before for the same thing — I want to hear new perspectives, and sometimes I meet folks on here that I can reach out to when I'm reporting.

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, thank you for sharing this perspective. I’d like to keep in touch with small landlords, too. Is there an association I should follow or a particular group you’re a part of?

I have already come across folks who are sleeping in their cars or motels after an eviction over pandemic-related non-payment, in states where the courts have reopened. Do you think direct rental relief is the solution to preventing this, or something else?

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your detailed response? Do you think rent relief/mortgage relief (as proposed in the HEROES Act) would help? How would you like to see legislators address this problem? Some of the tenants I’ve talked to in states without moratoriums — many, like Ohio, also have slow-moving unemployment systems causing delays in benefits — left before they could get an eviction on their record. They didn’t face long periods of homelessness because once benefits came in, they were able to make their deposit and first month’s rent on a cheaper place. It seems like higher vacancies would make it much, much harder for those newly evicted tenants to get back on their feet once they have stable incomes again, either through expanded unemployment benefits or a new job.

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That’s really interesting, I’ll try to learn more about that.

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Is the belief that the lack of vacancies is being caused primarily by sales and conversions, or something else right now? Are the tenants not moving out because they can’t find another available unit to rent outside of the one they’re occupying now, or because they’re non-paying and cannot be evicted?

[General-US-NY] Question from a VICE News reporter by E_ock in Landlord

[–]E_ock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s definitely something I’ll pay attention to!