During a pandemic, housing insecurity made a bad situation worse for these locals
As the coronavirus spread across the country, thousands faced a new problem brought on by unemployment or chronic health concerns: housing insecurity.
In Horry County, housing insecurity can present itself in different ways. Some people who were struggling to protect their health were suddenly faced with the additional worry of whether they would be able to keep a roof over their heads.
To better understand the intersection between housing and the coronavirus pandemic, The Sun News spoke with three Horry County residents who shared their stories.
Rafael Colon
Money was tight for Rafael Colon before the pandemic, but he still managed to pay his rent. Then he tested positive for the coronavirus.
As a sales worker, Colon, of Myrtle Beach, earns commissions. Since his June 4 positive test, he’s been alone in his apartment, unable to work, straining his finances even more.
“I don’t make a sale, I don’t make any money,” he said. “I was in a position where I couldn’t pay my rent.”
After a 10-day stimulus pay from his company, Colon, 49, applied for unemployment benefits but was denied, he said. He started to worry about paying the rent, so he talked to his property manager, who directed him to the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization, or ECHO. He was enrolled in a program that prevents people from becoming homeless.
Under the program, recipients typically can receive help with rent and utilities for up to a few months, depending on the situation.
Before the pandemic, he hadn’t had problems paying his bills on time. Now, he tries to keep his worries at bay without money coming in. He has other problems — his physical health.
“I didn’t want to allow that financial situation to become a fear, an anxiety or whatever, because I knew if I did that, that would affect my health,” he said. “And that’s the last thing I need, especially if I’m trying to recover.”
Colon’s symptoms were ruthless right after he tested positive, confining him to bed for more than three weeks. Though he’s been improving lately, he says the virus “comes in waves,” tricking people into thinking they’re doing better, then the symptoms return. He’s struggling to understand why he continues to test positive two months after his initial test in June.
But Colon says the worst part has been the isolation. A Marine Corps veteran, Colon says quarantining has brought back his PTSD and he’s had symptoms of depression, something he used to combat by going to the gym. Now, he opts for walks around his apartment complex by himself.
Colon needs two consecutive negative tests before he can return to work, bring in money and stop relying on ECHO for rent assistance.
“My main focus right now is wanting a negative result so I can get back to my life,” he said.
Debra Washington
Even people who haven’t tested positive for the virus are also facing roadblocks during the pandemic when it comes to housing.
Shortly before the pandemic hit, Debra Washington, of Myrtle Beach, had to pay to fix a problem with her car. It set her back financially, and soon after, she was paying extra costs for groceries and cleaning supplies due to the pandemic.
Her grocery bill nearly doubled because stores ran out of her usual cheap finds and she paid extra for delivery to avoid going to crowded shops. Washington has leukemia and Crohn’s disease, leaving her vulnerable to the virus due to her at-risk conditions.
Between cleaning supplies and surcharges for groceries, the costs snowballed, and soon she was behind on her rent.
In April, Washington was threatened with eviction, and she faced a harsh truth.
“‘This is reality,’” she recalled thinking. “What am I gonna do?”
Her anxiety spiked, and she started having visions of living on the street. Trying not to panic, Washington thought through her options.
“Maybe I need to sell my car, maybe I need to live in my car,” she said.
Washington was able to stay in her apartment with help from ECHO, but she represents many who have hit roadblocks to stable housing during the pandemic, even for those who haven’t tested positive.
Washington, who is on disability income after serving in the Army and working in hospitals for 20 years, says she cut back on things like cable, but it wasn’t enough.
“The bills don’t stop in a crisis,” she said. “The bills never stop.”
Jordan Brooks
With millions out of work and state eviction moratoriums expiring around the country, some have found themselves homeless or on the verge of losing their housing due to the pandemic.
Jordan Brooks slept in a tent outside a friend’s house near Loris before working with Sea Haven for Youth to find stable housing.
He’s been trying to get a job for months. With a felony gun charge on his record, it was hard enough. But he says the pandemic has dampened any chance he had at employment.
When the coronavirus caused businesses to shutter and hiring to grind to a halt, Brooks had one thought: “How am I gonna get a job now, you know? What am I gonna do?”
Brooks, 21, is confident he’d be a good employee, but he says his criminal history is standing in the way of improving his situation. Employers rarely look past that mark on his record, he says.
“That shouldn’t determine if you make it in society or not,” he said.
He said constant questions swirled in his brain. Each morning, he asked himself how he was going to find food that day, how he was going to get a job, how he was going to get back in the lives of his two daughters.
“Every day I wake up and I feel like the world is going to cave my back in,” Brooks said.
Although he hasn’t been able to see his daughters because of his unstable situation and his relationship with their mother, Brooks sees his family as motivation to “make it.” He’s been working with Sea Haven to find housing as the first step.
“I don’t want to be in this situation, I don’t want my worst enemy to be in this situation,” he said.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
