Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

Back at Thirteenth Street, Sherrena has served eviction notices to Arleen and Crystal. Sherrena lent money to Arleen for her sister’s funeral and can’t believe what a horrible person Arleen has turned out to be. She says, “Arleen is being real selfish. She doesn’t care about anybody else but her and her kids. She doesn’t care about me” (207).

Arleen has three days to find somewhere to live. She has looked at dozens of places with no luck. She meets with yet another landlord, Carol. To look like a good tenant, Arleen lies about her rental history, the amount of money she receives each month, and the number of kids she has. Even so, Carol is unwilling to rent an apartment to her until Arleen volunteers to use a “vendor payment” which will automatically deduct her rent each month from her benefits check before she receives it.

Arleen can move into the apartment at the end of the month, so she puts her belongings in storage and plans to stay at a shelter with her sons, even though she can’t find one with space for them. The next day, she discovers Carol has rented the apartment to someone else. She doesn’t know where they’ll go, but she collects the rest of their belongings.