>> the policies that were enacted to control the eviction crisis were unprecedented. >> narrator: over the course of a year, in states across the country, an inside look at the housing crisis, during the pandemic from those affected the most. >> there's a patchwork of eviction policies that vary by state... >> much of a tenant's experience was completely dependent upon the zip code that they lived in. >> you begin to think about what's most important to you. >> i have to visit the moral obligation a lot more because the legal obligation is in black and white. >> small landlords say they simply can't afford to house

people for free. >> i need to see that our government cares equally about landlords as they do with tenants. >> the clock is ticking for millions of americans who've gotten behind on thier rent payments during the pandemic. >> these are people that had jobs that felt secure. >> narrator: now, from frontline and retroreport... >> it's been an emotional rollercoaster. >> i don't know how i'm going to get out of it. >> narrator: "facing eviction" >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by t corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism... the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. park foundation dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues... the heising-simons foundation unlockinknowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support fro

jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. support for facing evictions is provided by the wnet gup's chasing the dream initiative on poverty and opportunity in america with major funding by the jpb foundation. and additional funding by: and additional support for facing evictions by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yesterday, i came home with

a 24-hour notice to vacate on my door. i have a five-year-old, so, you know, just trying to understand how this is going to affect her, knowing the pandemic has already... affected her a lot. (voice cracks): so, it's just been hard. it takes more than 24 hours to plan out your life. you begin to think about what's most important to you. um, things that you can pack quickly and keep with you just in case you're not with your things for, you know, an extended amount of time. right now, our things are going to go to a storage-- um... >> i haven't figured that out. ♪ ♪

>> narrator: the coronavirus pandemic put tens of millions of americans at risk of being evicted. to protect them, the federal government ordered billions in rent relief and a temporary ban on evictions, first through the cares act, later through a moratorium issued by the cdc. >> in an unprecedented move, the trump administration announced a temporary national moratorium on evictions for tens of millions of renters who have lost work. >> narrator: over the course of a year, we went to states across the country see how the prottions were being carried out... >> time is running out to keep families from being kicked out of their homes. >> narrator: ...and how the effectiveness depended almost entirely on how local officials were enforcing it. >> and some states have put a short-term hold on all

evictions, but protections are hodgepodge. >> a patchwork of eviction policies that vary by state. >> narrator: tenants scrambled to understand what their rights were, like alexys hatcher in texas, a state that already had limited protections for tenants. >> wn the pandemic really started hitting strong in the united states, and we started to see business closures and eviction moratoriums, i just started posting explairs on social media, just to help people understand exactly what was out there and how it would apply to them. those posts started to be shared quite a lot, and so before i knew it, i was getting phone calls and emails and facebook messages and tweets and everything else from people all over the county asking for advice on their particular situations. (phone calling out) >> narrator: mark melton, hatcher's attorney, created a network of lawyers to help people at risk of losing their homes. >> this landlord is trying to

evict her by ema, that's cute. >> by email, huh? >> yep. >> the government interventions that we've had to date have been helpful, certainly. but the problem with this protection is, it's not very effective, because it doesn't apply automatically. it only applies if those tenants know about the law well enough to sign an official declaration that they have to give to their landlord and the court for it to apply. (phone calling out) >> hello, is this jane? what's going on? i saw your message today at 1:00. >> well, yes, um, i'm still behind on my rent, but the thing is, is, my auntie was talking about some type of paper... >> mm-hmm. >> ...that don't show us the late fees or something. >> well, the late fees are still chargeable, but, what city do you live in? these are not deadbeats, these are people that had jobs that felt secure. and then all of a sudden, the business that they work for is closing or they're furloughing people. it was taking months to get unemployment insurance to go through, because there was such an over-log of, of applicants that the state just couldn't

process them quickly enough. and so people were really in a bad situation, where they had no real options. they can't force you to leave your home until a court orders them to, or orders you to leave. >> narrator: in february 2021, a federal judge in texas cast doubt on the validity of the cdc moratorium, saying it had overstepped its authority. >> the cdc's moratorium on evictions is unconstitutional. the judge ruled that while individu states have the power to put such restrictions in place, the federal government does not. >> narrator: and then, separately, the texas supreme court began allowing evictions to move forward. which left many people like alexys hatcher in a precarious situation. she became one of the first in the state to be evicted. she had been a manager of a shoe store, which closed during the pandemic. she loster income anfell behind on her rent. court documents for her eviction case show hatcher filed the necessary cdc

declaration saying she faced homelessness. still, this week, a judge allowed for the eviction to move forward. >> effectively, what happened with alexys was, the cdc moratorium was still there. it didn't go away. but the texas courts decided that the cdc order no longer applied in texas, as crazy as that is. they started allowing landlords to evict people at will. >> in texas, you have one of the first states to challenge the cdc moratorium, and successfully so. >> narrator: throughout the pandemic, emily benfer was tracking how states were handling evictions. >> much of a tenant's experience during the pandemic was completely dependent upon the zip code that they lived in. whether or not you stayed in that home depended almt entirely upon whether or not your lanord was going to comply with the cdc moratorium-- or a local moratorium, for that matter-- what sheriff showed up

at your door, and what judge you appeared before. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: there were some judges in texas still willing to consider the cdc moratorium. >> ...in the county of dallas in the state of texas, the honorable judge katina whitfield presiding, is now in session. >> good morning, everybody. let's get started here. sir, can you hear me? >> um, yes, ma'am. >> oh, okay great. >> in texas, a federal court judge did state that the cdc moratorium is not constitutional. i have mixed feelings about it, because we have the tenants that we know were affected. i see that there is going to be a lot of emotional cases that will be before me. i have to visit the moral obligation a lot more, because the legal obligation is in

black and white. it does not take into account the grey areas. and that's the reason why i listen to both sides, because once you do that, that gray area is going to be exposed. so then is the $2,219 the current amount owed? >> $1,921. >> have you tried to... okay, first, i don't, you don't have to go into your particular circumstances of what caused you to fall behind. but if you would like to explain what happened, you can do that. >> a lot of the people who were truly affected by covid, they're no better now than they were a year ago. we're talking about them losing their homes, or their kids will have to be withdrawn from school-- whatever, you know.

the stakes are high. so if we have that type of situation, number one, y'all need to understand it. you know, put yourself in their shoes. >> narrator: texas had started a new program that ordered judges to encourage landlords and tenants to work together to avoid evictions. judge whitfield spent time explaining to tenants that there were still protections available to them. >> right now, you're not considered a covered person because you haven't filled that declaration out and submitted it to your landlord. um, by what you testified to, it sounds like this would apply to you, but you would need to read each and every bullet point very carefully and sign it, because you have to qualify under each one of these, okay? you would sign it, you would submit a copy to your landlord and a copy to the court. as of today, you're not a covered person, okay?

so i would have to grant them judgment, but that doesn't mean that it's too late to fill this out. we're also going to email you guys a list of resources. we have a packet of financial resources. okay, judgment in favor of the plaintiff for 33-08-19, possession and court costs. best of luck to you. go down there, make the arrangements, y off what you can, and try to settle it, okay? >> yes, ma'am. >> all right, thank you guys so much, y'all have a wonderful day. >> you, too. >> thanks. >> god bless. >> thank you. >> nrator: in making her decisions, judge whitfield said she also had to balance the financial concerns of small landlords, who were often more lnerable than corporate property owners. >> since covid, the mom-and- pop-- you know, "this is not a business, i have one home that i'm renting out, i still have a mortgage, h.o.a. fees, insurance, those type of things"-- i always stress the financial assistance, and i'll remind the tenant that this

person is still paying those things, like, you have to remember that. just, you know, becae it's hard on you, remember that it's just as hard on them. >> narrator: landlord sandra stanley quickly began feeling the impact of the pandemic. >> hi, george, i'm here, i'm just checking on you to see if you need anything-- how's it going? >> how you doing? >> i'm good. >> narrator: she and her family own eight rental properties around the dallas-fort worth area. >> thank you for the partial payments, and just continue to... local landlords have up-close and personal relationships with their tenants. we know our tenants. we know their children. we know what's going on with them and their situations. over the course of the pandemic, when i had to rk with people with their rent, we did okay paying our mortgage that we had on it, but we did have struggle with paying our, our taxes. hey, steve, this is sandra. i was wondering, did you get to

find a solution to the a.c. problem at all? we have to take care of the properties regardless of what, if we get paid or not. we had a.c. repairs, we had a plumbing problem-- all that money has to come out of my pocket, so i went into my retirement and got the money to pay the taxes. and my brother, he had his savings, he had to go into his savings. in my lifetime of being a landlord, i've had to do at least three evictions, probably over, over 30 years. we try to work with people and charge low rent so they can pay their rent. i'd rather havsomebody pay their rent than have eviction. i hate doing evictions. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: throughout the pandemic, the people on the

front lines ofarrying out evictions in texas were deputies from the local constable offices. >> my name is jacqueline lundy. i work for the dallas county constable's office, precinct five. i'm gonna put in my firs address. when i'm driving out to the location, i kind of try to run some scenarios in my head. "okay, if they're not at home, fine, but if they are at home, what is my next step? what am i gonna do? how am i gonna approach it?" (radio squawks) you don't know what state of mind they're in. we're in a pandemic. people have lost their jobs, whatever home life that they have going on. their emotions could be high. sometimes it's, uh, you kind of are sensitive to the situation.

you just kind of have to compartmentalize the sad part of it. it is sad, for me. i would prefer if they wernot home, but it's a roll of the dice when they are at home, and if they are at home, it tugs at you if there's kids involved, because it's not their fault that they're being displaced. but for the most part, it's about safety. you don't know who's behind that closed door, so it's an unknown, and an unknown is gonna be a threat. (saw grinding) >> narrator: deputy lundy was on her way to evict a man who had been illegally occupying a vacant house for months. (device chirps) >> just open the door. >> we need to speak with you out here.

>> open the door, we're going in. >> he has it locked, he locked the door. >> listen, we don't have time for all this, i got... >> hey, hey! (talking at once) >> he did not give me a... >> give him something to open the door. >> let's discuss this outside. >> yes, something to pull the door. >> i don't have a weapon on me. >> because i don't know what you got inside the house. (door rattling) open the door, open the door. >> open it, open it. get in there, get in there, get in there. get in there, get in there. >> i'm packing my (bleep). you come in and help me, i'm packing my stuff. >> you need to step out. >> i'm getting all my belongings. >> you need to step out. >> i can't get my clothes? >> uh-uh, step out, let's go. step out, step out. >> taking everything out of the house-- take everything out of the house. (speaking spanish) >> put everything right here in the front yard, all the furniture. ♪ ♪

>> did you, did you, uh... you got say grace. okay, say grace. >> the greatest indicators of eviction are being black, being a woman, or having children. we know that black people are two times as likely to be evicted as their white counterparts after conolling for education and other factors. we know that the single greatest predictor of an eviction is the presence of a child. >> narrator: the day she was evicted, hatcher and her daughter spent the night at her grandmother's house. but she was worried about covid, and continued looking for somewhere else to stay. >> are you on the southern side of arlington or on the northern side? >> southern. >> okay. >> good afternoon. how could i help you? >> hi, i was wondering if you guys have anything available for maybe a week? >> for a week starting today? >> possibly, yes. >> so if you come in tomorrow,

i've got a king room available at $99 per night. >> oh, okay. >> that's a week's stay, that's saturday through the following saturday. >> saturday to saturday? >> yes, ma'am. >> they're so expensive. (laughs): god. (phone calling out) >> good afternoon. can i help you? >> hi, i just have a couple of questions. first, i was wondering if you guys have anything that's available for maybe a week? >> no, we don't have anything. we probably wouldn't be able to get you in till sunday or monday. (phone calling out) >> yes, ma'am, how can i help you? >> hi, so we were talking about the, um, one-week room. i couldn't remember if you said it would be available today or tomorrow. >> hold on, i'll check. >> just one adult, one child.

>> one adult and one kid. okay, i got you booked. i'll see you tomorrow. >> okay, thank you so much. >> this is $375, okay? >> yes, ma'am, thank you. >> i'll see you, bye-bye. you're welcome. >> bye-bye (sighs) >> (sighs) >> i know, we got that done, right? >>ay! >> (laughs) >> i'm glad that i have the daughter that i have, because not all kids are so understanding and accepting. she feels my energies. she knew something wasn't right. she was expecting something was going to happen, but one thing she knows is, mommy is always there. mommy is still here. so it must be okay. you know? even though she knows her stuff is not at home, even though she

knows we're not going back there, she doesn't know we don't have a home, because to her... (softly): i'm sorry. but to her, wherever i am is her home. ♪ ♪ >> more than 15,000 eviction notices have been sent out to new jersey residents during the pandemic, even though new jersey governor phil murphy issued an eviction moratorium preventing people from being locked out. >> narrator: even in states with strong tenant protections duringhe pandemic, people were facing eviction. in new jersey, in addition to the cdc moratorium, they passed their own ban on evictions for failing to pay rent. but that didn't cover everyone. >> i used to work at hello fresh. but i stopped working there

because someone on my line had corona. now i'm a temp, so, and a floater. i was only back a month and a half, and i found out the landlord said i was a squatter. i mean, i just sit and worry, for the simple fact i got an 11-year-old daughter. (sniffles) >> narrator: in december 2020, june robinson's landlord went to court claiming that she wasn't a legal tenant because her name wasn't on the lease, and he hadn't received rent since before the pandemic, even though she said she'd paid until recently. >> miss robinson explained that she's behind on rent right now, like a lot of tenants are in new jersey. the new jersey governor and the supreme court essentially said that eviction cases couldn't go forward.

but the landlord filed this tment action, which were still allowed to be filed, claiming that june was not a tenant here. you're essentially filing a lawsuit agait someone saying they're a squatter. we've seen it happen a few times over the course of the pandemic, whe a landlord says, "i can't file for eviction, so can we get them out with an ejectment?" it's possible that this is an attempt to just get around the protections. >> i spend majority of my time now sitting outside in my car, trying to figure it out. (sniffles) is this how i'm gonna be living? in my car? ♪ ♪ (sniffles): mm, mm, mm. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: before she found an attorne robinson had an

online court hearing. >> see if that zoom thing got downloaded. (sniffs) yes, good morning, i'm supposed to had a zoom court date today, and i don't have a link or anything on my phone. i never got... someone called me, like, the fifth, i think, the fourth or the fifth, and said i would be getting an email so i can do the zoom video or something. and that, i never got an email, that's all was told to me. (sniffs) while you're here on the phone, let me, i'm gonna go... (sniffs) i'm on, no, i'm, i'm... okay, say, joanne, that's it? and, um, could you tell me how i

go about setting it up, please? oh, don't click on it now? okay. oh, you are such a... thank you so, so much. 'cause i didn't know what to do. i have a banging headache. like, my head is hurting really bad. >> getting overstressed. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: on the day of her hearing, she was running an errand at a grocery store, and was in her car when the proceedings began. ♪ ♪ >> miss robinson, are you here?

>> yes. >> so maybe you could, it would be, not be inappropria for you to remove your mask? so we could hear you better? >> oh, oh, maybe, okay. >> oh, yeah, that's much better. >> okay. >> so before we go any further, please raise your right hand. do you swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give, as well as the testimony you have previously given, will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> yes. >> okay, thank you. now, on january the 6th, i heard testimony and reviewed the documents. and i concluded that whoever was residing in unit two was not there with the permission of the property owner, and that anyone who was in that unit needed to vacate the premises immediately. so explain to me now what it

is that you're asking. >> how am i squatting when, um, the apartment was rented to me since july019? >> have you been paying anybody any rent? >> yes, i have, i've, like i said, i mean, i'm, yeah, i didn't, i was back a month and a half. and that's because i was out of work, but i started getting unemployment, and i was, i told them that i would take and, you know, catch up on my ren >> is yourame on the lease? >> yes, yes, it is, yes, it is, your honor, yes. >> well, let's see it. >> i'm in the car. i went to the store, your honor, to get something to eat. i didn't know that, i didn't bring no lease right here in the car with me. >> my client, who is the lawful and legal owner of this apartment complex, your honor, and now we're in a position where this person is purported to be a lease, a lessee of this

residential apartment building, yet has never prepared, or shown a lease agreement, has never presented that to a court. >> i'm trying, still trying to understand what is different than what occurred when i d a hearing in early january. nothing has been presented to me today, either verbally or in the documents provided to the court, to enable me to vacate the prior order of ejectment. so, uh, good luck and, uh, stay safe. >> thanks, your honor. >> i'm not understanding... i didn't understand nothing he said. like... so what he just said, like, this is just over? my, my thing is just over?

like... (sniffles) (siren blaring in distance) hello? ♪ ♪ (cellphone ringing) (knock at door) (knock at door) >> who is it? >> so yore aware of what's going on today, right? >> no. >> your brother hasn't been talking to you? >> no. >> okay, we came by multiple

times. we've, i've talked to you personally multiple times. >> i don't know why they, why he keeps sending you on out here. and this is a tenant-landlord situation. he's, i don't know why you keep doing that. >> okay, we're looking at a court order right here. so you went toourt, and they gave a ruling, but they didn't give you any paper before you left? >> no. they did a zoom thing, no. >> oh, you did a zoom thing? >> yeah. >> the reason why we were trying to get in contact with you is to help you along with the process. because we knew a certain date that was set, there's nothing we can do at that time. we were trying to help you to try to see if you can go back down to the court or do anything. because once our hands are tied, there's nothing we can do. and that's why we came back here multiple times, putting multiple letters on your door with the number to contact us. because the only person that you need to speak with is a judge.

if the judge signs an order, that's all you have to do is go see the judge. we have no control of that. he signed the order. >> i don't have that power, okay? you have to talk to a judge, someone over me, that supersedes me, tells me what to do. >> so you're telling me i'm going to get locked out of my apartment? >> well, uh, the... >> me and my 11-year-old daughter? >> i don't, i don't... >> if we don't do it today, we will be doing it next week. we will be doing it next week. so whatever affairs you need, have it in order by that date. because we will be coming back, we will be posti it on the door. >> okay. i understand that. >> so the next time we come, there shouldn't be an issue, right? >> what's your name? >> detective toone. >> wait, detective who? >> toone-- t-o-o-n-e. we still working with you. >> and i appreciate that. >> we're doing everything we can. but what i'm telling you, once i get another date, that is it. all right? so we're going to call, um...

they're not here, so we're going to have to move forward. but like i said, we will be back to talk to you. and i will call you and let you know if i'm going to post it and everything. >> thank you. >> all right. >> thank you... (inaudible) >> all right, have a good day. >> you, too. ♪ ♪ mm, mm, mm. >> housing is foundational. it, it's a pillar of resiliency in the same way that employment and education are. but if you knock out that one pillar, housing, where you live, your home, you can't access any of the others. ♪ ♪ >> tents are protected during the pandemic. they don't have to pay the rent and their landlords can't evict

them. >> narrator: while almost every state and many cities passed their own eviction moratoriums, california had the longest- running ban. >> small landlords say they simply c't afford to house people for free. >> narrator: in los angeles, dyan golden said her upstairs tenant stopped paying rent. >> when the pandemic first everybody else, like, what does this mean? and as far as being a landrd, i didn't project or see anything, i didn't put anything together in terms of eviction moratorium. what is that? i mean, none of that came to mind. a matter of fact, the first month that my tenant didn't pay, i think it was in march. and, and i told him, i said, "you know, if i were working, i wouldn't, either, because everything's just so uncertain." next month, you know, he paid and then he skipped again. no problem. i trusted him. i figured he'll pay me back.

i didn't know if or when my tenant was gonna pay rent. so it's like having your hands tied behind your back, and someone can just take and do whatever with your life, with your livelihood. there's so many people that think that landlords are bad. that landlords are "rich." they have a lot of money. that landlords should not make a profit. that it's not a business, you know, and, and that's why we're the scapegoats. in the end, i lost 11 months' rental income. i have to eat. i have to get my medicines. plus, now, i've got legal bills because i need an attorney to know, how do you evict somebody? what, what do i do? ♪ ♪

>> narrator: as the pandemic stretched on, tenants were falling deeper and deeper into debt. >> when the schools shut down, this is when it all started for me. my son was no longer to attend in-person schooling. and that's where i was unable to work during the week, because now i'm staying home and doing the home schooling. and our restaurant went down to take-out only. since this, it's been a journey. it's been an emotional rollercoaster. since september, have not paid my rent, so i'm looking at eviction if i don't have 25% of my rent paid. but even if i do have that part paid, m still going to owe about $7,500. um, so where's that going to come from?

every couple of months, i get notices on my door from the apartment complex letting me know the balance of what i owe at that time, and every time that hits my door, it just brings me to another place. and i just, i cry, because just seeing that rack up is just difficult, because i don't know how i'm going to get out of it. this apartment means a lot to me. it's our safe haven. it's something that i've worked so hard to keep and provide for us. so it's just not an apartment. it's our home. >> narrator: to help tenants like teresa trabucco, who were behind on their rent, congress had allocated billions of dollars, one of the largest such efforts in history. >> congress passed federal rental assistance, and that ended up amounting to over $46 billion, which was the amount the landlord associations and

apartment associations said they needed to make themselves whole. >> narrator: the program was meant to provide rental relief payments to tenants and landlords, and cover back rent, late fees, and utility costs. >> the same way that we've never had a moratorium before, we have never had the national infrastructure for rental assistance. so, states were ill-equipped to actually disperse it to communities. in fact, by the end of june 2021, only $3 billion of $46.5 billion had been distributed to the landlords who needed it and to prevent the housing displacement of those millions of tenants. >> see you guys. ♪ ♪ we had three tenants that stopped paying altogether. and it became quite a burden now, because we're talking about ten months, 11 months later now,

and the tenants owe me $39,000 and change, and that's a very large sum of money that affects, you know, everything about the building. in california, although the governor has proclaimed that, that there's rent relief, and rent relief is coming, and we've had to apply. and we've applied for the three tenants, but unfortunately, due to some of the administrative fficulties in complying with the application process, the moneys still have not come through. >> i applied for several different rental assistance programs throughout riverside county, and each program, i felt like it was just a dead end. they kept referring me to another place. and then the apartment manager

submitted the paperwork for me to get started on the rental assistance program. and two weeks went by. no check. third week, i'm, like, "okay, it's been 15 business days, still no check." i was, like, "it's one hurdle after another, like, it's not going to come through." the options i'm thinking about would be possibly to move in with my sister and rent a room from her, or my parents, move back in with them. but, you know, at 43 years old, you shouldn't have to be going back to live with your parents, or struggling to find somewhere to live, or if you're going to live on the streets. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: alexys hatcher had applied for the rental assistance, but the money hadn't come through befe she was

evicted. like many states, texas had enlisted charitable groups, such as the salvation army, to help distribute the fun. >> i first met alexys, my supervisor called me, and said that she had watched a story on the news about aoung lady who had been evicted from her home. and she was a single mom with a little girl. i think i was mad and i was frustrated, because i know that, you know, evictions weren't supposed to be happening. >> yay. >> (cheers) >> and how do you explain that to your child? so her story touched me on different forefronts, being a case manager, being a mom, and just being a person. my department handles court- ordered evictions.

so we pay rent. now we're paying mortgages. we're just trying to make sure that anyone who needs the assistance is able to stay in their home. i am preventing clients from entering to a shelter, or sleeping in a car, or having to go and couch surf or check into a hotel. so we are trying to divert them from being at risk of homelessness. >> you like this one better? >> yeah! >> okay, so guess what? >> wt? >> we're going to go buy groceries, because guess what? >> one thing that really sticks out was that she told me her daughter asked what was going on, and shtold her that their house was broken and that they had to find a new house. >> nice and lovely! >> nice and lovely! >> she didn't want to tell her baby that they were being evicted, and so she justold

her that, "theouse is broken, we're going to find another house, and it's an adventure." and i just think, the way she handled it with her daughter, i don't think children should have to worry about where they're going to sleep, never. or what they're going to eat. >> spaghetti? >> (speaking gibberish) no! >> why? we have to get veggies, too. do you want corn or green beans? since i've been grocery shopping, it's about maybe three weeks. but since all of my food ended up in black bags, and i had to throw away a lot of it, this is exciting. so, like, even though i'm in the hotel, like, the fact that i can go buy groceries, i can cook, like, there's pots and pans or a dishwasher, like, it, it gives me a sense of just being normal. i don't feel like i'm not in my home. it makes me happy.

it's just like, i don't feel like i'm just failin like, you know, i feel like i'm doing something that is normal. here you go. would you like to sit in the like to sit at the desk?uld you >> (inaudible) >> okay. >> (babbling) >> narrator: janeen smith started working with hatcher to find her a new place to live and to get the rental assistance money. >> i think with alys, the difference between her and a lot of clients, she is very organized, and anything that i asked her for, shead it. "ms. smith, i got records. ms. smith, do you want me to drop it off? you want me to email it to you?" she was on top of it. >> hi, erin. i was wondering if you all had any two bedrooms available? aw, do you know when you will have something? >> to leave a message for the office or leasing, please press one.

(cellphone beeps) (voicemail beeps) >> hi, my name is alexys hatcher. i was looking to move in to your two-bedroom townhome kind of immediately. (cellphone calling out) >> thank you for calling... >> hi, i was wondering if you guys had any two bedrooms available. >> it was important that she picked a place that she wanted to be in. don't just get something and not want to be there. take your time, look at it. there is a lot of resources out there, but if you don't know or have someone to tell you, then you don't get the help. ♪ ♪ >> hi, randy, how are you? good. i don't like to ask for help. so, i struggled with that. it wasn't a good feeling.

but thmanagement company, they really kept on top of everything with me, keeping me informed. i think they were rooting for me. within, i would say, about six to eight weeks, i heard back from the on a sunday night, i got that email. half-tired, and i'm reading it. and i just sat there. and i'm, like, wha, what? like, this is not-- i'm seeing too many numbers tre. it covered all of my past due rent, and three months' advanced rent, and my water and sewer and trash was paid. it just felt like a ton of bricks just came off of my shoulders. (crying): and it was, like, i wasn't losing my home. and liam and i had a place to stay. so it was such a good feeling. ♪ ♪

>> narrator: of all the states, california received the most federal rental relief-- more than $5 billion. los angeles landlord dyan golden ended up receiving money for the rent she missed. and across the country, the money was eventually distributed to millions of people. ♪ ♪ >> it supported ople at a time of extreme crisis. it made it possible for them to go back to work and prevented the poor health, the anxiety, the mental health breaks that are associated with eviction. >> narrator: emily benfer went on to work for the white house, helping implement the rental relief plan. >> the communities that were able to distribute rental assistce had lower displacement rates. they had lower filing rates in eviction courts. so, all of the interventions, these measures, they're

important and they matter. >> narrator: alexys hatcher's rental assistance money came through and ended up helping her pay for a new apartment. >> that one's full of clothes. today's moving day, yes. it's really exciting. even though i'm probab going to be really exhausted by the end of the day, it'll be worth it, because we're not in a hotel or at my grandma's house. >> mommy, look what i found! >> what'd you find? >> it is, found my, um... >> bubble blower? >> yeah! and i found my minnie mouse one, the wand! >> it is? >> (singing and talking) >> watch out, baby. >> we've started to kind of go through all of our stuff, because those black bags, they were all mixed up. i couldn't find everything. th is definitely not the way it should be done, especially

the way the things are in the bag. it's just like throwing all of your things out like trash. like, i know it's kind of funny, but... i mean, it's funny now. it was not funny the day i thought about it. get some toys for me aliyah please. this bag is full of christmas decorations. i don't know, pulling my stuff out, it's, like, some things have memories, so that's just, like, a sense of comfort in itself, is that i'm back with my things. >> now, somebody will play with me? >> just a second. i'll play with you as soon as i'm done. >> okay. >> to see someone with a support system versus someone without, you shouldn't be surprised that those are two totally different

outcomes. we've got other families that are right now living in their car with their two kids. >> are you gonna buy it? >> yup. >> we've got other families that we've had to put in shelters that are still in shelters. you know, these are the more typical stories when we're talking about eviction. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: june robinson was not able to provide rental receipts or a valid lease to prove she was a legal tenant, and was forced to leave the apartment. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> narrator: in august 2021, the u.s. supreme court blocked the federal moratorium on evictions. (knocking door) >> constable's office! (knocking on door) >> constable! >> narrator: and state bans have since expired. ♪ ♪ in the coming months, the last of the government's rental relief money is expected to be paid out. ♪ ♪ >> 521. >> (on radio): 5. >> go ahead and show me clear set-out. ♪ ♪

that was a good day. you know, i didn't have to encounter the tenant being there, and seeing the look on their face, or anger, or whatever the case may have been. it's kind of heartbreaking at time, to do it, but it is part of the job that i signed up to do, so, much as i hate it, you know, i have to do it. ♪ ♪ >> excuse me, mommy, i got to

make some food for my babies. >> gracie, sit down and eat your food, please. if it was just me by myself, like, no pandemic, i just got behind on my rent, and my landlord decided to evict me, i don't think anyone would have thought twice about it. they probably would have kind of made assumptions, like, "wel whatever she was doing, that's her problem." but i'm kind of glad that it did happen in a pandemic, where everyone is thinking about it and talking about it, because when this pandemic is over, evictions are not going to stop. there are still going to be people that are going to need help, regardless of pandemic or not. >> "kiss me and tell me i will never be alone." "kiss me and hug me t..." >> tight. >> "...and say, 'i love you.'" (smoke detector chirps)

"i never let you go." >> the end. >> i'm gonna let it stay right here so i can read it tomorrow. ♪ ♪ >> go to pbs.org/frontline for additional reporting on evictions from our partners at retroreport. >>in cities like fresno, the threat of evictions has tenants on edge... >> we cannot let people be evicted because of nothing they did themselves... >> programs that help tenants purchase their homes are gaining traction now... >> connect with frontline on facebook, instagram and twitter, and stream anytime on the pbs video app, youtube or pbs.org/frontline. >> narrator: in a frontline special presentation... >> hundreds of civilians have been killed in the ukrainian city of kharkiv...

>> narrator: a dramatic look inside russia's attack on kharkiv ld by the poeple living through it, the displaced families, civilians caught in the fight and those risking everything... >>et's go. >> narrator: to protect them... >> you can call it anyway you want, but it's war. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism... the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. park foundation dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues... the heising-simons foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from koo and patricia yuen, committed to

bridging cultural differences in our communities. support for facing evictns is provided by the wnet group's chasing thdream initiative on poverty and opportunity in america with major funding by the jpb foundation. and additional funding by: and additional support for facing evictions by: captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org. >> for more on this and other frontline programs visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ ♪ frontline's "facing evictions" is available on amazon prime video.

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