(NC) Participants' Words - Center for Critical Public Health

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“[My city] almost burned down two years ago… on top of that, a town outside [another city] burned down as well. So, a lot of people have been displaced. So, anyway, the housing market’s almost doubled here with that, like over a year. So, it’s kind of hard. It almost doesn’t feel like my town anymore, kind of…. I think that there needs to be some younger voices in there… There’s a lot of problems that I think this older generation doesn’t see really what’s going on… So many people’s houses burned down… And there’s not a lot of resources for these people.”

“A lot of rural communities… have been established on logging. Especially in the Northern California, western areas… A lot of those communities are dying or dead… because they don’t have those jobs anymore. So there is kind of this disconnect between the past and the future of rural towns… There’s that disconnect between ‘okay, what do these rural towns do now?’ Because right now they’re doing nothing and… these youths are getting out, or they are getting caught in that cycle of getting these not very sustaining jobs and not living fulfilling lives for themselves.”

“Finances, since we’ve been living paycheck to paycheck a lot, especially with moving in, buying a house that’s at the top of our price range. And waiting on some VA claims to go through and hopefully get my disability increased, will make living here a lot easier. Eventually my wife will go back to work and my credit is going to get better. Re-fi that house, drop our payments down. When I have no money and I’m irritated about that, it’s nice to drink and forget about that.”

“For me, living with my parents, it’s quite easy to live [here]. However, people who are moving here as a young adult… It’s harder to find apartments and places to rent. Whether it’s expensive, or there’s literally nothing to access.”

“It’s really difficult to find housing in rural communities, especially as a young person, especially if you’re not involved in the community. You have to be involved in the community to be able to find places to live.”

“Housing is kind of a concern because so many houses burned down. Not even just [my town]; like, all around the area. So, for us, we’ve rented two houses in the area. We moved up here in a camper and stayed in camper spots, and that was easy enough. But getting the houses are a little bit harder. Like, I was, I think, one week before I had my first son, we finally got a house after looking for months and months. Because they’re so – there’s a shortage, I guess. You know, people’s houses burned down, and just like, everything is taken.”

“We have a bunch of out-of-towners… you know, they’ve got a ton of money, so they can just basically offer homeowners… more money than their house is worth. And then they turn it into an Airbnb. Right where I live… there’s probably five or six surrounding homes that have all been turned into Airbnbs. Most people my age… don’t have enough money for a down payment, so they have to rent, but then they can’t afford the rent because people know that they’ll be able to make more money by turning it into an Airbnb, rather than just a regular home rental.”

“But… now they’re running into the problem where they don’t have enough people to work, and like, do all of the touristy things… so they can’t cater to the tourists, which is what all the Airbnbs are for… For the most part, it is a really great place. It’s just a matter of like, people being able to stay here and make a living. Because there’s not a lack of jobs, it’s just a lack of housing. and then sometimes, you know, the jobs don’t always pay that well, or like, well enough for people to afford the housing that is here.”

“I feel like a lot of people struggle with their mental health here. So, a lot of people have really bad depression and stuff, and so they’re using substances to cope with those things… . And obviously a lot of stress. Our town right now, it’s impossible to rent because prices are so high… Like, one of my friends, she’s a single mom with three kids. She’s been looking for housing for a while, and she’s been in the same apartment for a while… it’s kind of a struggle.”

“I mean, I really started smoking more when I was stressed out there, homeless. You know? So, it was really definitely like, tripled.”

“I drove up to my house with it being basically in ruins… and there was kind of this moment of, like, we lost our dogs in the fire. We lost everything… My sister just bought a house… So she’s like, well, you are homeless… so just come move in with me… But it was pretty awful during that process.”

“I lived there for two years, and I had my own place… By the time I hit the end of my street, I couldn’t even see. That’s how quick it came and all that. So, I lost my home… But thankfully, we all made it out alive. … I have friends that have horrible stories. Yeah, a lot of people – it was devastating. … That, and the things that followed… [it] took me off my horse, I guess you could say.”

“I would like to see more solutions to both homelessness and just the people who are maybe like, in housing but in overcrowded housing, or living not in ideal circumstances — more availability of housing. And I know that that’s kind of like a double-edged sword because then you’re, you know, changing a lot about the city as well. But there’s just so much demand…”

“I bounced around from foster home to foster home and then [I was] homeless every once in a while. Like, a few nights sleeping on the streets, and then group homes that sucked really badly… Once I aged out of the program, [I had to move] because the bank had foreclosed on the house — or the owner sold it to the bank, and then the bank told me to leave.”

“I was originally supposed to be eligible for apartment housing, but that recently got shut down. The waitlist was put on indefinite hold… it’s pretty common around there too, because again, it’s one of those retirement areas, so even if there are apartments, they are instantly taken. The waiting lists are sometimes years long.”

“If you don’t work at the mill, you’re scraping for it. You know what I mean? Like, I’m hustling hard. … So, you’ll notice that, in areas like this, the camaraderie between person to person is extremely strong compared to urban areas and stuff like this. When you see somebody struggling here, they’ll help you; they really will. When you actually open up to them. Like, say, how I ended up working [the job] I have now. I looked at the guy and was like, Dude, well, about to lose our home. And he was like, Okay. Well, let’s see if I got something you can do. And he gave me a chance, which is the hardest thing in life to be given, is a chance.”

“The homeless population is a concern, especially now in the wintertime. There’s been a few deaths of the homeless… I know that they’ve opened up a few churches as like, warming centers, so people don’t pass away. But it’s sad because people passed away for that to happen, for the warming centers to be opened. I don’t know. I feel like the homeless need help. People with addictions, I know, can be kind of mentally unwell, and it can be scary sometimes. But sometimes they also just need love and help.”

“[The fires] displaced a lot of people. And so, [my town] has been way more crowded than it’s ever been. And unfortunately, there’s also a lot more homeless people in the area, and again, not a lot of resources for individuals that need housing or mental health or substance use or any of that. So, the downtown area has gotten pretty intense lately too.”

“One of the disadvantages about living out there though, is there’s no water… They have to dig for these wells… and if you’re lucky, you’ll find water… [Where I grew up] we would run amok up and down the creek, go to the park, and it was just my family out there… I loved it… I had a very close family, but after my grandparents passed away, now we don’t talk… There’s been animosity ever since my family had to sell the property… There was no water, so we couldn’t keep the property.”

“I feel, you know, at home in this area, and like I have family and safety, and it’s beautiful out here. There’s just so many places that I like to explore… Sometimes I go and spend some time with [family], and I’ll stay in the guestroom and visit and help them with some things. And I get my mail there so, for all intents and purposes, I have, you know, a residence there of sorts. But I choose not to rent my own place right now; maybe in the winter. But you know, I’m kind of going through the challenge of finding work and trying to get on my feet financially. And it’s easy for me to save money, living out of my vehicle…”

“The credit requirements here in California, they’re insane. They want you to make three times the rent. They want you to have a 650-credit score. And it’s like, are you kidding me? If my credit score was that high, I would not be trying to rent from you. I would be trying to buy. I don’t know any single person that makes three times the rent unless they’re making $25 or more an hour. It’s unreal what they want you to make to get a place around here…. It’s discouraging at times because when you apply and you’re like, oh, this looks like a nice spot, like, you think you qualify, but then you get denied, and you’ve been denied so many times, almost like a broken record playing over again.”

“In [my town], there’s not a lot of young people. I mean, I probably think there’s like, ten of us that I’ve seen… It’s just not affordable for young people, so there’s not a lot of them.”

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