“One of his clients, Stephanie Austin, 45, who used to sneak into Sea-Tac Airport to sleep when she was homeless, moved into a permanent supportive housing unit operated by Plymouth Housing at the end of 2022. At the time, she had a temporary, part-time job as a cashier and cook primarily at the stadiums downtown, through Uplift Northwest, a Seattle nonprofit temporary staffing organization.
Based on that income, Plymouth determined she could pay $64 in rent per month. But within a few months of moving in, Austin’s hours at her job fell off, and she fell behind on rent.
Selena Tan, a senior associate at PolicyLink who studies rent debt, said month-to-month fluctuations in income are common among low-income households, and that the economic shock of the pandemic made them more likely.”