High Rents, Foreclosures and the Mortgage Crisis are Forcing a Growing Number of People to Live in their Car.
High rents, mortgage crisis and foreclosures are forcing some people to live in the car. Here are some links and a video of people who used their car as an alternative home. Some of them managed to live a normal life, some struggled, while others were "in denial" about their situation.
According to a New York Times article by Ian Urbina, "Keeping it Secret as the Family Car Becomes a Home", experts and advocates believe that living in car is a growing trend.
"The number of "mobile homeless," as they are often called, tends to climb whenever the cost of housing outpaces wages" according to Dr. Kim Hopper, a researcher on homelessness for the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, which is based in New York
Here’s another related article by Sue Ziedler for Scotsman.com "US mortgage crisis forces homeowners to take refuge in their cars".
""The subprime meltdown is the kind of situation that pushes people into cars. It’s a very common story," said Ruth Hollman, of Self-Help and Recovery Exchange, a group that helps homeless people."
Meanwhile in London, Anya Peters just launched her book Abandoned: The true story of a little girl who didn’t belong. She too lived in a car. She chronicled her experience and struggles in her book and blog "Wandering Scribe".
Here’s an actual video of student, Andy Bussell showing how he lives in his truck…with an office, library, porch and a bedroom. He uses his gym membership to use the shower and restrooms. In doing so, he saves $1600 a month in rent. He’s been living in his truck for over a year already.
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Source: YouTube submitted by SellsiusRealEstate
In closing, may "living in a car" be just something temporary for the people involved. May they find hope and success to recover from their situation. I do admire their strength and courage to continue to live in spite of their circumstances. Let’s not isolate them more from our society, but accept that it is only a phase of their lives that they are forced to go through.
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POSTED IN: Breaking News, Foreclosed Properties
1 opinion for High Rents, Foreclosures and the Mortgage Crisis are Forcing a Growing Number of People to Live in their Car.
Jonah Roth
Sep 20, 2007 at 4:54 pm
well, i’d just like to say that the reason i think rents are so high is our sue happy american culture. because insurance companies get gouged at for money with all the suing going on, insurance of course costs more to compensate for this. and that a landlord has to take out alot of insurance for their rooms/apartments/houses/whatever that they compensate with higher rents. there is my two cents people.
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