Housing Insecurity

Over the past year, life has been especially difficult for workers who lost their jobs temporarily, or permanently due to the pandemic. Many were just getting by before COVID, and now are having an even harder time struggling to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head. Millions of Americans have been unable to pay their rent for months, and landlords who have their own bills to pay are also hurting. To help keep many people in their homes, Congress approved $25 billion in emergency rental assistance in December and has now approved another $22 billion as part of the COVID-19 relief package that just passed the U.S. House this week and was signed by President Biden on Thursday. The United Way, one of the non-profit agencies helping people here in the North Country cope with the effects of the pandemic, says the threat of homelessness is one of the biggest challenges many people are facing right now a year into the pandemic. Mountain Lake PBS Producer Michael Hansen talks with Plattsburgh Housing Authority’s Executive Director Mark Hamilton about concerns the housing crisis could get even worse in the coming months.