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New on Big If True
Last week, we published two stories on the state of evictions in Oklahoma and Mississippi.
- In the debut story for our monthly in-depth reporting series, Sarah Fowler wrote about a new federal eviction ban that most renters still don’t know about a month after it went into effect.
- Advocates argue that without rental assistance, eviction moratoriums are “kicking a can down the road,” especially if tenants don’t know about the bans.
- In Oklahoma, three companies that filed high numbers of evictions received $1.5 to $3.35 million in federal loans meant to offset losses due to the pandemic.
- Some judges are closing eviction hearings to the public in an attempt to socially distance. While reporting for Big If True, journalist Ben Luschen wasn’t allowed into an Oklahoma County courtroom on two occasions, creating transparency concerns.
- These closed hearings push dozens of people into the hallway, where social distancing is impossible.
- The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency waiting list for Section 8 housing vouchers has grown from 16,000 in May to 20,000 in September.
- In Oklahoma City, the Homeless Alliance estimates unsheltered homelessness – people staying in cars or tents – is up 50%.
Ben, Sarah and I talked about our reporting on this week’s episode of Big If True’s podcast, Hard Reset.
- I keep coming back to something Sarah said during our conversation, which is this: “A lot of people are tired and not just mentally exhausted – that deep-in-your-bones kind of exhaustion – from not only trying to work to make ends meet, but to do so in a pandemic and to provide for your family when you don’t even know what tomorrow is going to look like.”
- Ben shared what it was like reporting on evictions in between shifts at his own minimum-wage job.
- I explained how we identified the Oklahoma evictors that received loans created through the CARES Act, a federal coronavirus relief package.
Both of our recent stories were entirely funded by Big If True’s readers. If you value this work, consider showing your support with a tax-deductible donation so that we can keep it up.
Thank you for reading Hard Reset. Send me feedback, questions and tips: bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
– Mollie Bryant
Big If True founder and editor
