Coronavirus cost me my job; without rent forgiveness, it will cost me my home
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2020/05/coronavirus-cost-me-my-job-without-rent.html
By Patricia Mendoza,
Special to CalMatters |
It was a
few weeks into the coronavirus
pandemic when I got the call from my boss. I could tell from the
sound of her voice what I was about to hear: She had no choice but to let me
go.
Just like
that, I’d lost my
job — a job I loved, that I did well, and that I needed to feed
my two kids and pay my rent.
My boss
apologized and promised I could return “when things got back to normal.” But
when will things get back to normal? And what will happen to my family in the
meantime?
My heart
sank as I wondered how we were going to stay in our home. The answer is that we
won’t be able to, unless our elected leaders cancel and forgive my rent until
this coronavirus crisis is over.
I am a
single mother in Imperial Beach, raising two amazing, hardworking children. My
daughter is a junior in high school and my son is 9 years old. Until two weeks
ago, I worked for a company transporting patients to non-emergency medical
appointments. Sometimes I worked 12-hour days. I even worked Christmas Eve. I
recently tried to get another job at a grocery store, but the woman in charge
of hiring was concerned because I have asthma, which puts me at higher risk
from COVID-19.
This is
my dilemma: I need to make money, but I also need to stay healthy for my
children.
Patricia Mendoza. |
My kids
are my rock. I’m doing my best to be their teacher in between their virtual
classroom hangouts. But we’re all scared about the same thing: How are we going
to pay the bills if I can’t work? When I was employed, I made $2,000 a month —
a whopping 75 percent went to rent, leaving just $500 to feed my family, not to
mention pay utility bills and internet service so my kids can do their school
work. Without my job, paying rent is impossible.
The added
stress has also taken a toll on my health. Anxiety increases my asthma attacks,
and unsurprisingly, my asthma has gotten worse over the last few weeks.
I couldn’t
pay April’s rent, and I won’t be able to pay rent for May either. A few weeks
ago, I joined as a member of the Alliance
of Californians for Community Empowerment and
started organizing with my neighbors to learn our rights and fight to have
rents and mortgage payments cancelled.
I learned
that I couldn’t be evicted right now. But this was only a temporary relief.
Even if I do get my job back, I won’t be able to pay back the rent I owe from
months of being unable to work. That debt would be crippling and could cost us
our housing.
In
joining this movement, I have also learned that I am not alone in this
struggle. To make the government realize how much we need their protection, we
must work together. Small landlords too! If we can’t pay, how can they pay
their mortgage?
Big
corporations are getting help. Where’s the help for the rest of us?
On May 1,
I joined thousands of tenants across the country in the rent
strike movement, turning our economic reality into a political
act and demanding that our government step up. Gov. Gavin Newsom has shown
strong leadership in protecting our public health — now we need strong
leadership to protect us economically.
Last
week, my 9-year-old son offered me the $53.47 he’d saved from recycling
neighbors’ cans to put toward our rent. I couldn’t have been more proud of him,
but it also broke my heart. No child should ever feel this kind of
responsibility or fear of losing the roof over his head. To our elected
leaders: Please act now to cancel rent and mortgage payments until the crisis
lifts.
_____
Patricia
Mendoza is a single mother of two who participated in the rent strike on
Friday, May 1, patriciaalejandramendoza2020@gmail.com. Mendoza
wrote this commentary for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture
committed to explaining how California's Capitol works and why it matters.
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