Households Struggle to Afford Food, Pay Rent, Emerging Data Show
JULY 21, 2020
BY SHARON PARROTT, ARLOC SHERMAN, JOSEPH LLOBRERA, ALICIA MAZZARA, JENNIFER BELTRÁN, MICHAEL LEACHMAN
Executive Summary
“THE NEXT PACKAGE SHOULD BOTH EXTEND THE RELIEF MEASURES THAT ARE WORKING AND ADDRESS THE SHORTCOMINGS AND MISSING ELEMENTS IN THE RELIEF EFFORTS TO DATE.”As Congress begins considering a new relief package, likely the last before the election, emerging data show that a large and growing number of households are struggling to afford food and that millions of households are behind on rent, raising the specter that evictions could begin to spike as various federal, state, and local moratoriums are lifted. The next package should both extend the relief measures that are working but are slated to end well before the crisis abates and address the shortcomings and missing elements in the relief efforts to date.
Hardship, joblessness, and the health impacts of the pandemic itself are widespread, but they are particularly prevalent among Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant households. These disproportionate impacts reflect harsh inequities — often stemming from structural racism — in education, employment, housing, and health care. Black, Latino,[1] and immigrant workers are likelier to work in industries paying low wages, where job losses have been far larger than in higher-paid industries. Households of color and immigrant families also often have fewer assets to fall back on during hard times. Immigrant households face additional unique difficulties: many don’t qualify for jobless benefits and other forms of assistance, and those who do qualify for help often forgo applying, fearing that receiving help will make it harder for them or someone in their family to attain or retain lawful permanent resident status (also known as “green card” status) in the future.
Read more at https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/more-relief-needed-to-alleviate-hardship.
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