Courtney Harrell (Host)

After the break, we'll talk about how we got here and why, housed or unhoused, everyone is feeling the strain.

So obviously, the question of why we have so many people struggling to afford housing is a big one. But Brian says it really boils down to three things, decreasing tenant protections, low wages and skyrocketing rents.

So obviously, the question of why we have so many people struggling to afford housing is a big one. But Brian says it really boils down to three things, decreasing tenant protections, low wages and skyrocketing rents.

So obviously, the question of why we have so many people struggling to afford housing is a big one. But Brian says it really boils down to three things, decreasing tenant protections, low wages and skyrocketing rents.

One place poor and working class people often turn is low income housing, including public housing. But there's a lot of problems with that, too, which you can see in the story of another person in Brian's book, a woman named Britt, who grew up in public housing in Atlanta.

One place poor and working class people often turn is low income housing, including public housing. But there's a lot of problems with that, too, which you can see in the story of another person in Brian's book, a woman named Britt, who grew up in public housing in Atlanta.

One place poor and working class people often turn is low income housing, including public housing. But there's a lot of problems with that, too, which you can see in the story of another person in Brian's book, a woman named Britt, who grew up in public housing in Atlanta.

Only one in four who qualify for the assistance actually get it because the government programs are so underfunded that there's just not enough money to cover everyone who should be able to get help.

Only one in four who qualify for the assistance actually get it because the government programs are so underfunded that there's just not enough money to cover everyone who should be able to get help.

Only one in four who qualify for the assistance actually get it because the government programs are so underfunded that there's just not enough money to cover everyone who should be able to get help.

Yeah, yeah. Britt, the woman in Brian's book, actually wins that lottery. Miraculously, her name is picked. But that doesn't get her an apartment or even the rental voucher. It gets her on a waiting list to get the voucher. And she ends up waiting two years. But then, okay, so she finally gets her voucher. Now she has to find a landlord that will accept it. And she can't.

Yeah, yeah. Britt, the woman in Brian's book, actually wins that lottery. Miraculously, her name is picked. But that doesn't get her an apartment or even the rental voucher. It gets her on a waiting list to get the voucher. And she ends up waiting two years. But then, okay, so she finally gets her voucher. Now she has to find a landlord that will accept it. And she can't.

Yeah, yeah. Britt, the woman in Brian's book, actually wins that lottery. Miraculously, her name is picked. But that doesn't get her an apartment or even the rental voucher. It gets her on a waiting list to get the voucher. And she ends up waiting two years. But then, okay, so she finally gets her voucher. Now she has to find a landlord that will accept it. And she can't.

Not a single landlord in her price range will take it. So her voucher expires. And she's still left without a home.

Not a single landlord in her price range will take it. So her voucher expires. And she's still left without a home.

Not a single landlord in her price range will take it. So her voucher expires. And she's still left without a home.

And why is that happening? Why are landlords saying, no, I'm not going to take that voucher?

And why is that happening? Why are landlords saying, no, I'm not going to take that voucher?

And why is that happening? Why are landlords saying, no, I'm not going to take that voucher?

This partly goes back to the stigma we talked about before. Some landlords assume that anyone relying on a voucher to pay part of their rent is not going to be responsible enough to pay for the rest of it. But also, there's another issue. There's just not enough housing to go around.