Dr. Clif CleavelandThe squalor and suffering seem more fitting for Third World slums, yet the scenes are drawn from Milwaukee, Wis., USA. This is the setting for Matthew Desmond’s remarkable, deeply unsettling “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” published earlier this year.
While completing graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, Desmond split time in Milwaukee between living in a rundown trailer park and an inner-city rooming house. In addition to taking copious notes, he used a digital recorder to capture countless conversations. He built trust with a diverse population who were fully aware that he was working on a book about their lives and their shared plight.
Landlords of both properties lived well from the rentals of their wretched properties. They could take cruises and drive pricey cars on their six-figure incomes. They had almost unchecked power over their tenants.
Residents of the trailer park and the other rental properties spent up to 70 percent of their income to rent spaces plagued by roaches, plumbing that often failed and inadequate heating. Needed repairs were often ignored. Average rental was $550 per month. Tenants in both locations struggled to buy food, clothing and meet other needs with the money left after paying the landlord.
Sometimes they could meet a shortfall in their rental payment by making improvements in the broken-down habitats in exchange for rent forgiveness. Tenants might work off some of their delinquent rent by cleaning filthy, recently vacated trailers for less than minimum wage. One of the saddest images is that of a man with both legs amputated, who had detached his prostheses, crawling about the floor to apply paint to the walls of his space.
Occupants of the hovels included people addicted to narcotics and alcohol, physically and mentally disabled persons, and victims of strings of misfortunes. They lived on disability payments and food stamps, sometimes supplemented by low-paying jobs or piecework. Any unexpected expense such as a medical emergency could derail their fragile economic status.
Evictions were frequent. Three calls to 911 in a month, even if they reported acts of domestic violence, could trigger an eviction notice. Excessive calls to a landlord to fix problems often had the same result. Misbehavior of a child in a classroom might result in a visit by the police, which could result in eviction. Landlords held the fates of their tenants in their capricious hands.
A majority of those summoned to eviction court failed to show up. They might lack transportation or fear losing a job or simply be resigned to a process where they could not mount a defense against landlords represented by sophisticated attorneys. The majority of those who did appear in court had no alternative housing available once their evictions were processed.
Sometimes the only shelter for a mother and her children after an eviction was temporary housing, either free or a sublet offered by another resident of the slumland. An evictee might spend days and call 100 numbers seeking another rental. They would limit their searches to properties that required no background checks.
When a deputy with an eviction team arrived, the tenant could choose to have his belongings stacked at the curb or warehoused. The latter option led to steadily rising fees to reclaim belongings at a later date.
Evictions might occur at any time of year, in any weather. Children of evictees would bounce from school to school, unable to gain any educational traction.
Thanks to the Desmond’s book, we have a privileged look into the lives of people for whom every day is a struggle simply to exist. Only one of the people followed through the narrative breaks free, conquering addiction to prescription narcotics to rebuild his life around regular work.
The epidemic of evictions is not unique to Milwaukee. Millions of Americans are evicted from their housing each year with similar tragic impacts on their lives.
Sir Richard Doll, the late distinguished British epidemiologist, said, “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.” More than any book that I’ve read, “Evicted” restores those tears to people who have names, frustrated hopes and bleak futures.
In the epilogue, Desmond states, “Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.” He outlines a series of corrective measures that are within the reach of every community, if there is the will.
The reader is left with two choices: categorize the evicted as losers and move on or acknowledge our shared humanity and become advocates for fundamental changes to a system that is broken in most cities.
Contact Clif Cleaveland at ccleaveland@timesfreepress.com.