A Letter to the Editor Sent In by Rhino Times Reader Donna
(This is by Donna, written in the third person.)
Donna, once a productive member of society, now faces the harsh reality of potential homelessness. Formerly a legal secretary and executive administrative assistant, Donna’s life took a drastic turn when health issues led her to file for disability. Her subsequent divorce left her financially destitute, with her husband squandering their resources and causing their house to go into foreclosure.
Now, living on Disability income, Donna has been renting a house since 2022, spending over $20,000 of her entire savings/retirement on repairs to make it livable.
Donna now faces eviction without any viable alternatives, as her income does not qualify her for other rental options.
Broader Implications:
Donna’s case highlights several critical issues within Greensboro’s housing policies:
- Lack of Tenant Protections: North Carolina’s laws heavily favor landlords, leaving tenants vulnerable to sudden evictions despite significant personal investments in rental properties. There is an urgent need for legislative changes to protect tenants from exploitative practices.
- Affordable Housing Shortage: Donna’s situation underscores the dire shortage of affordable housing options for low-income individuals and those on disability. Her struggle to find suitable accommodation reflects a broader systemic issue that needs addressing at both local and state levels.
- Homeless Crisis: With landlords like Donna’s contributing to the homeless situation through eviction actions, there is a pressing need for community and government intervention. Donna’s story is a testament to how current policies do not prevent homelessness among vulnerable populations.
Community Response:
Donna calls for a community response, urging people to read and reflect on Biblical teachings about compassion and charity, specifically referencing Matthew 25:31-46 and 1 John 3:16-18. She appeals for unity in addressing the root causes of homelessness and advocates for listening to the stories of those affected to create effective solutions.
Proposed Solutions:
Donna suggests several measures to address the homeless crisis:
- Implementing rent control to prevent exploitative increases.
- Enforcing stricter regulations on landlords to ensure they cannot unjustly evict tenants.
- Providing more robust support systems for low-income individuals, including housing, medical care, and job opportunities.
- Utilizing the state’s resources to ensure no one is left without basic necessities.
Call to Action:
Donna’s story is a call to action for Greensboro residents and policymakers. Her experience is a stark reminder of the human cost of inadequate housing policies. Donna’s plea for help and reform serves as a catalyst for broader discussions on how to effectively tackle homelessness and protect vulnerable populations from similar fates.
Donna
Providing more robust support systems for low-income individuals, including housing, medical care, and job opportunities That would alleviate most of the homelessness, take care of the middle class that takes care of you,..
It is neither compassion nor charity when people are forced to finance the living expenses of others.
And Donna, if you believe Government enforced Rent Control will lead to LOWER rents, I pity you.
Good luck, but try to free yourself from Leftist groupthink.
Please.
I think it is a responsibility of the citizens and a community to educate ourselves about the options available for the people facing homelessness. We all should have compassion and empathy instead of looking down our noses at someone else who is struggling to make ends meet. Do we need to help them all? No, that is not realistic but before voting, make an informed decision and don’t be of the mindset that everyone made poor decisions. If you have not walked in their shoes maybe you should not throw stones.
Hey, hey… get off your high horse, honey.
I did not “look down my nose” at anyone. I correctly pointed out that having your money forcibly taken from you for some societal good does not constitute charity. You have no choice in the matter, so there’s no reason for self-satisfaction.
If you voluntarily give money in any way, even if it’s just giving 5 Bucks to a street beggar, that IS charity.
Can you understand the difference?
And what stones did I throw at Donna? Tell me.
I wished her good luck. That’s not throwing stones – but baseless character assassination of others is. Maybe you should look in the mirror.
Austin, I’m as far from the Left as you can get. I used to be there, 40 years ago. Thank the Lord, I saw the light. He saved me. His Words in RED. Do you know Him? Is He Left or Right? He gave, and gave, and gave. He still gives today. He walked in truth and love filled with compassion, charity, empathy. His Word leaves no doubt or question, we are our brother’s keeper… we are to take care of those less fortunate… we are to take care of the jailed prisoners, the widows, the fatherless, the hungry, the sick, the blind, the less fortunate – those in need.
Have you read the “Final Judgement” in Matthew 25:31-46? Have you read 1 John 3:16-18?
Our tax dollars support the Left. Isn’t it time they supported His Way?
Well our tax Dollars already DO support the indigent, don’t they? Big time. There’s an umbrella of programs and services that exist exactly for that purpose, but that is not charity. It’s the coercive confiscation of resources, and their redistribution. God has nothing to do with it.
Neither do my personal religious beliefs.
—– And the Rent Control you advocate is a socialist micro-economic policy (as advocated by Kamala Harris). People on the right don’t advocate socialist policies.
Let’s get right to the root of this problem: No one gives a rat’s ass. The same thing happened to me about six years ago; evicted unnecessarily after 20+ years at same residence. In summary, the police will consider this to be a civil matter so they’ll not so much as offer assistance. The town council won’t so much as respond to your emails and calls. No attorney will represent you since they know they won’t win. The courts don’t care, either, and they’ll uphold the law and give you a week to vacate. And despite being disabled, anything and everything left in your home becomes the property of the landlord since he’s already had the sheriff witness the changing of your locks to prohibit you from re-entering. Oh, and don’t waste your time with the Greensboro Housing Authority either. To do so would involve mountains of paperwork submissions on your part and when you’re ready to move they’ll send you a letter saying you don’t qualify for any one of a number or obscure reasons. And no one will investigate their ridiculous behavior because, as I said, they, too, will not care.
So the very little I have saved should be taken by the govt from me and put me in your place. Your current city council and county managers are already doing that Donna and sadly many of us can’t afford the high taxes and pet projects we pay for. You will soon have more company to join you Donna. My ability of supporting charity has stopped as I don’t have the money.
This is a problem that reaches beyond Greensboro, it’s happening everywhere. I am in an extremely similar situation, except I own my home. I was married for 25 years. When divorce happened I had to borrow $20,000 from my parents. My attorney never told me we would be forced to mediation. We had already tried once. She said I would have to come up with another $10,000 for her to even
set foot in a courtroom. I had no option but to sign the agreement. I was an emotional mess.
I went back to school and started a business, but after breaking my back in 2018, and a wreck that totalled my vehicle, then a pandemic, I closed my business.
I have been without income since 2022. I have drained every account I had.
I am scrambling today to try to find assistance to keep my water and internet on. I’ve done a forbearance on my home. I am starting a selling business, but haven’t been able to launch it yet because every single minute is devoted to trying to navigate how to keep things afloat. Applying for assistance is a long process and requires a lot of documentation. It’s a job into itself. It gets confusing, and I’m mentally exhausted. My ex makes several hundred thousand a year, yet refuses to help. Our system is a mess. I am a mess.
Oh Debbie, God bless you. What a dreadful situation. I’ve been lucky never to have been in such a predicament, but if you’ll forgive me for saying so, it sounds like those who are supposedly helping you are actually preying on you.
Good luck. This too shall pass.