truthout--2020-08-17--PPE Shortage Could Last Years Without Strategic Plan, Experts Warn

Shortages of personal protective equipment and medical supplies could persist for years without strategic government intervention , officials from health care and manufacturing industries have predicted .
Officials said logistical challenges continue seven months after the coronavirus reached the United States , as the flu season approaches and as some state emergency management agencies prepare for a fall surge in COVID-19 cases .
Although the disarray is not as widespread as it was this spring , hospitals said rolling shortages of supplies range from specialized beds to disposable isolation gowns to thermometers .
“ A few weeks ago , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sanitary wipes .
You just couldn ’ t get them , ” said Dr. Bernard Klein , chief executive of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills , California , near Los Angeles .
“ We actually had to manufacture our own.
” This same dynamic has played out across a number of critical supplies in his hospital .
First masks , then isolation gowns and now a specialized bed that allows nurses to turn COVID-19 patients onto their bellies — equipment that helps workers with what can otherwise be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen whole families come to our hospital with COVID , and several members hospitalized at the same time , ” said Klein .
“ It ’ s very , very sad.
” Testing supplies ran short as the predominantly Latino community served by Providence Holy Cross was hit hard by COVID , and even as nearby hospitals could process 15-minute tests .
“ If we had a more coordinated response with a partnership between the medical field , the government and the private industry , it would help improve the supply chain to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Klein said .
Klein said he expected to deal with equipment and supply shortages throughout 2021 , especially as flu season approaches .
“ Most people focus on those N95 respirators , ” said Carmela Coyle , CEO of the California Hospital Association , an industry group that represents more than 400 hospitals across one of America ’ s hardest-hit states .
She said she believed COVID-19-related supply challenges will persist through 2022 .
“ We have been challenged with shortages of isolation gowns , face shields , which you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Any one piece that ’ s in shortage or not available creates risk for patients and for health care workers , ” said Coyle .
At the same time , trade associations representing manufacturers said persuading customers to shift to American suppliers had been difficult .
“ I also have industry that ’ s working only at 10-20 % capacity , who can make PPE in our own backyard , but have no orders , ” said Kim Glas , CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations , whose members make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization have made “ hundreds of millions of products , ” but , without long-term government contracts , many are apprehensive to invest in the equipment needed to scale up the business and eventually lower prices .
“ If there continues to be an upward trajectory of COVID-19 cases , not just in the U.S. but globally , you can see those supply chains breaking down again , ” Glas said .
“ It is a health care security issue.
” For the past two decades , personal protective equipment was supplied to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the same way toilet paper was to grocery stores .
Chains between major manufacturers and end users were so efficient , there was no need to stockpile goods .
But in March , the supply chain broke when major Asian PPE exporters embargoed materials or shut down just as demand increased exponentially .
Thus , health care institutions were in much the same position as regular grocery shoppers , who were trying to buy great quantities of a product they never needed to stockpile before .
“ I am very concerned about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Dr. Susan Bailey , president of the American Medical Association .
“ There ’ s no question the situation is better than it was a couple of months ago , ” said Bailey .
However , many health care organizations , including her own , have struggled to obtain PPE .
Bailey practices at a 10-doctor allergy clinic and was met with a 10,000-mask minimum when they tried to order N95 respirators .
“ We have not seen evidence of a long-term strategic plan for the manufacture , acquisition and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said Bailey .
“ The supply chain needs to be strengthened dramatically , and we need less dependence on foreign goods to manufacture our own PPE in the U.S. ” Some products have now come back to be made in the U.S. — although factories are not expected to be able to reach demand until mid-2021 .
“ A lot has been done in the last six months , ” said Rousse .
“ We are largely out of the hole , and we have planted the seeds to render the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , president of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry .
In 2019 , 850 tons of the material used in disposable masks was made in the U.S. Around 10,000 tons is expected to be made in 2021 , satisfying perhaps 80 % of demand .
But PPE is a suite of items — including gloves , gowns and face shields — not all of which have seen the same success .
“ Thermometers are becoming a real issue , ” said Cindy Juhas , chief strategy officer of CME , an American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re expecting even a problem with needles and syringes for the amount of vaccines they have to make , ” she said .
Federal government efforts to address the supply chain have foundered .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency , in charge of the COVID-19 response , told congressional interviewers in June it had “ no involvement ” in distributing PPE to hot spots .
Project Airbridge , an initiative headed by Jared Kushner , President Donald Trump ’ s son-in-law , flew PPE from international suppliers to the U.S. at taxpayer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government has not responded to the AMA ’ s calls for more distribution data .
Arguably , Klein is among the best placed to weather such disruptions .
He is part of a 51-hospital chain with purchasing power , and among the institutions that distributors prioritize when selling supplies .
But tribulations continue even in hospitals , as shortages have pushed buyers to look directly for manufacturers , often through a swamp of companies that have sprung up overnight .
Now distributors are being called upon not just by their traditional customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but by nearly every segment of society .
First responders , schools , clinics and even food businesses are all buying medical equipment now .
“ There ’ s going to be lots of other shortages we haven ’ t even thought about , ” said Juhas .

Shortages of personal protective equipment and medical supplies could persist for years without strategic government intervention, officials from health care and manufacturing industries have predicted.
Officials said logistical challenges continue seven months after the coronavirus reached the United States, as the flu season approaches and as some state emergency management agencies prepare for a fall surge in COVID-19 cases.
Although the disarray is not as widespread as it was this spring, hospitals said rolling shortages of supplies range from specialized beds to disposable isolation gowns to thermometers.
“A few weeks ago, we were having a very difficult time getting the sanitary wipes. You just couldn’t get them,” said Dr. Bernard Klein, chief executive of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California, near Los Angeles. “We actually had to manufacture our own.”
This same dynamic has played out across a number of critical supplies in his hospital. First masks, then isolation gowns and now a specialized bed that allows nurses to turn COVID-19 patients onto their bellies — equipment that helps workers with what can otherwise be a six-person job.
“We’ve seen whole families come to our hospital with COVID, and several members hospitalized at the same time,” said Klein. “It’s very, very sad.”
Testing supplies ran short as the predominantly Latino community served by Providence Holy Cross was hit hard by COVID, and even as nearby hospitals could process 15-minute tests.
“If we had a more coordinated response with a partnership between the medical field, the government and the private industry, it would help improve the supply chain to the areas that need it most,” Klein said.
Klein said he expected to deal with equipment and supply shortages throughout 2021, especially as flu season approaches.
“Most people focus on those N95 respirators,” said Carmela Coyle, CEO of the California Hospital Association, an industry group that represents more than 400 hospitals across one of America’s hardest-hit states.
She said she believed COVID-19-related supply challenges will persist through 2022.
“We have been challenged with shortages of isolation gowns, face shields, which you’re now starting to see in public places. Any one piece that’s in shortage or not available creates risk for patients and for health care workers,” said Coyle.
At the same time, trade associations representing manufacturers said persuading customers to shift to American suppliers had been difficult.
“I also have industry that’s working only at 10-20% capacity, who can make PPE in our own backyard, but have no orders,” said Kim Glas, CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, whose members make reusable cloth gowns.
Manufacturers in her organization have made “hundreds of millions of products,” but, without long-term government contracts, many are apprehensive to invest in the equipment needed to scale up the business and eventually lower prices.
“If there continues to be an upward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, not just in the U.S. but globally, you can see those supply chains breaking down again,” Glas said. “It is a health care security issue.”
For the past two decades, personal protective equipment was supplied to health care institutions in lean supply chains in the same way toilet paper was to grocery stores. Chains between major manufacturers and end users were so efficient, there was no need to stockpile goods.
But in March, the supply chain broke when major Asian PPE exporters embargoed materials or shut down just as demand increased exponentially. Thus, health care institutions were in much the same position as regular grocery shoppers, who were trying to buy great quantities of a product they never needed to stockpile before.
“I am very concerned about long-term PPE shortages for the foreseeable future,” said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association.
“There’s no question the situation is better than it was a couple of months ago,” said Bailey. However, many health care organizations, including her own, have struggled to obtain PPE. Bailey practices at a 10-doctor allergy clinic and was met with a 10,000-mask minimum when they tried to order N95 respirators.
“We have not seen evidence of a long-term strategic plan for the manufacture, acquisition and distribution of PPE” from the government, said Bailey. “The supply chain needs to be strengthened dramatically, and we need less dependence on foreign goods to manufacture our own PPE in the U.S.”
Some products have now come back to be made in the U.S. — although factories are not expected to be able to reach demand until mid-2021.
“A lot has been done in the last six months,” said Rousse. “We are largely out of the hole, and we have planted the seeds to render the United States self-sufficient,” said Dave Rousse, president of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry.
In 2019, 850 tons of the material used in disposable masks was made in the U.S. Around 10,000 tons is expected to be made in 2021, satisfying perhaps 80% of demand. But PPE is a suite of items — including gloves, gowns and face shields — not all of which have seen the same success.
“Thermometers are becoming a real issue,” said Cindy Juhas, chief strategy officer of CME, an American health care product distributor. “They’re expecting even a problem with needles and syringes for the amount of vaccines they have to make,” she said.
Federal government efforts to address the supply chain have foundered. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in charge of the COVID-19 response, told congressional interviewers in June it had “no involvement” in distributing PPE to hot spots.
Project Airbridge, an initiative headed by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, flew PPE from international suppliers to the U.S. at taxpayer expense but was phased out. And the government has not responded to the AMA’s calls for more distribution data.
Arguably, Klein is among the best placed to weather such disruptions. He is part of a 51-hospital chain with purchasing power, and among the institutions that distributors prioritize when selling supplies. But tribulations continue even in hospitals, as shortages have pushed buyers to look directly for manufacturers, often through a swamp of companies that have sprung up overnight.
Now distributors are being called upon not just by their traditional customers — hospitals and long-term care homes — but by nearly every segment of society. First responders, schools, clinics and even food businesses are all buying medical equipment now.
“There’s going to be lots of other shortages we haven’t even thought about,” said Juhas.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-17--Pentagon Weighing $2.2 Billion in Cuts to Military Health Care

Just weeks after both chambers of Congress approved a $ 740 billion Defense Department budget for fiscal year 2021 , Pentagon officials are reportedly pushing for more than $ 2 billion in cuts to military healthcare over the next five years , potentially threatening the coverage of millions of personnel and their families amid a global pandemic .
Politico reported Sunday that the proposed $ 2.2 billion cut to the military healthcare system is part of a “ sweeping effort ” by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to “ eliminate inefficiencies within the Pentagon ’ s coffers.
” “ Ever notice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to things used to send kids to war ?
” asked Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Reporter .
“ It ’ s always — always — a cut to the promises we make to get them to volunteer for us .
What a disgrace.
” According to Politico , “ Esper and his deputies have argued that America ’ s private health system can pick up the slack ” for any servicemembers who lose coverage .
“ Roughly 9.5 million active-duty personnel , military retirees , and their dependents rely on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military ’ s sprawling government-run healthcare framework that operates hundreds of facilities around the world , ” Politico noted .
“ The military health system also provides care through TRICARE , which enables military personnel and their families to obtain civilian healthcare outside of military networks.
” Rep. Mark Pocan ( D-Wis. ) , co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus , said the push for billions in healthcare cuts shows once again that the Pentagon “ puts more effort in protecting defense contractor profits than the lives of our troops.
” Alongside Rep. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut the proposed $ 740 billion budget by 10 % without touching the military healthcare program .
The amendment failed last month by a vote of 93-324 , with 139 Democrats joining 185 Republicans in voting no .
A companion amendment in the Senate led by Sens .
Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) and Ed Markey ( D-Mass . )
also failed to pass .
Unnamed Defense Department officials told Politico that , if approved , the cuts “ could effectively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” adding to the rapidly swelling ranks of the uninsured .
A study released last month by advocacy group Families USA found that at least 5.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic .
Politico reported that the proposed $ 2.2 billion in cuts includes “ eliminating all basic research dollars for combat casualty care , infectious disease and military medicine for [ Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ] , as well as slicing operational funds.
” “ What ’ s been proposed would be devastating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

This comes after both chambers of Congress approved a $740 billion Defense Department budget.
Just weeks after both chambers of Congress approved a $740 billion Defense Department budget for fiscal year 2021, Pentagon officials are reportedly pushing for more than $2 billion in cuts to military healthcare over the next five years, potentially threatening the coverage of millions of personnel and their families amid a global pandemic.
Politico reported Sunday that the proposed $2.2 billion cut to the military healthcare system is part of a “sweeping effort” by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to “eliminate inefficiencies within the Pentagon’s coffers.”
“Ever notice that it’s never a cut to things used to send kids to war?” asked Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Reporter. “It’s always — always — a cut to the promises we make to get them to volunteer for us. What a disgrace.”
According to Politico, “Esper and his deputies have argued that America’s private health system can pick up the slack” for any servicemembers who lose coverage.
“Roughly 9.5 million active-duty personnel, military retirees, and their dependents rely on the military health system, which is the military’s sprawling government-run healthcare framework that operates hundreds of facilities around the world,” Politico noted. “The military health system also provides care through TRICARE, which enables military personnel and their families to obtain civilian healthcare outside of military networks.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the push for billions in healthcare cuts shows once again that the Pentagon “puts more effort in protecting defense contractor profits than the lives of our troops.”
Alongside Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Pocan co-sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut the proposed $740 billion budget by 10% without touching the military healthcare program. The amendment failed last month by a vote of 93-324, with 139 Democrats joining 185 Republicans in voting no.
A companion amendment in the Senate led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also failed to pass.
The Trump administration is ALWAYS looking for ways to cut your health care, regardless of who you are, where you live or what you do.https://t.co/0SnpVt9jGi — Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) August 16, 2020
This is who they are: “Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care” https://t.co/w1YT6LANCS — Keith Ellison (@keithellison) August 17, 2020
Unnamed Defense Department officials told Politico that, if approved, the cuts “could effectively gut the Pentagon’s healthcare system,” adding to the rapidly swelling ranks of the uninsured. A study released last month by advocacy group Families USA found that at least 5.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.
Politico reported that the proposed $2.2 billion in cuts includes “eliminating all basic research dollars for combat casualty care, infectious disease and military medicine for [Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences], as well as slicing operational funds.”
“What’s been proposed would be devastating,” warned one anonymous senior official.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-17--State Attorneys General Appear Ready to Sue Trump Over Changes at the USPS

At least six state attorneys general appear to be discussing possible legal action against the Trump administration due to changes at the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) that could disenfranchise voters seeking to cast their ballot by mail this year .
The group of Democratic state officials appear to be making moves toward a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for the sudden changes that were made in the name of cost reduction .
Critics maintain that the changes are an attempt to purposely slow mail delivery service , citing Trump ’ s comments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding to USPS in order to impede mail-in voting in this year ’ s general election , including the race for president .
Attorneys generals in Massachusetts , Minnesota , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Virginia and Washington have made statements suggesting legal action was in the works against the administration .
“ I am reviewing all legal options to protect this election , ” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein tweeted on Saturday , noting that “ Trump admitted ” in his statement last week “ to trying [ to ] starve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t deliver absentee ballots.
” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also stated that moves by DeJoy and Trump represent an “ assault on Democracy.
” “ DeJoy and the entire Trump Administration must answer for exactly what ’ s going on , ” Herring said .
DeJoy , who has given millions of dollars to the Republican Party ( including to Trump ) and who has vested financial interests in competitors to USPS , has implemented a number of changes to Post Office operations across the country , including cuts to overtime , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of hundreds of high-speed mail sorting machines .
The moves may end up shutting down many post office locations , cutting staff and slowing down service .
Indeed , changes have already resulted in the USPS warning election officials in 46 states that mail-in ballots may not arrive in time to be counted for the 2020 elections .
Americans reported a number of other alarming trends , including the removal of letter collection boxes in several states across the country .
Other collection boxes have had locks placed on them , preventing them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington , D.C. , are also considering legislation to stop changes at USPS in the lead up to the 2020 election .
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ( D-California ) announced on Sunday that she would be recalling House lawmakers from their August recess in order to deal with the matter .
“ Lives , livelihoods and the life of our American democracy are under threat from the president , ” Pelosi said in her letter to colleagues .
It ’ s unclear whether the Republican-controlled Senate would take similar action in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is a bipartisan call from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Kentucky ) to respond .

At least six state attorneys general appear to be discussing possible legal action against the Trump administration due to changes at the United States Postal Service (USPS) that could disenfranchise voters seeking to cast their ballot by mail this year.
The group of Democratic state officials appear to be making moves toward a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for the sudden changes that were made in the name of cost reduction.
Critics maintain that the changes are an attempt to purposely slow mail delivery service, citing Trump’s comments last week that implied he was blocking funding to USPS in order to impede mail-in voting in this year’s general election, including the race for president.
Attorneys generals in Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington have made statements suggesting legal action was in the works against the administration.
“I am reviewing all legal options to protect this election,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein tweeted on Saturday, noting that “Trump admitted” in his statement last week “to trying [to] starve USPS of $ so it can’t deliver absentee ballots.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also stated that moves by DeJoy and Trump represent an “assault on Democracy.”
“DeJoy and the entire Trump Administration must answer for exactly what’s going on,” Herring said.
DeJoy, who has given millions of dollars to the Republican Party (including to Trump) and who has vested financial interests in competitors to USPS, has implemented a number of changes to Post Office operations across the country, including cuts to overtime, adjustments to delivery policies and the removal of hundreds of high-speed mail sorting machines. The moves may end up shutting down many post office locations, cutting staff and slowing down service.
Indeed, changes have already resulted in the USPS warning election officials in 46 states that mail-in ballots may not arrive in time to be counted for the 2020 elections.
Americans reported a number of other alarming trends, including the removal of letter collection boxes in several states across the country. Other collection boxes have had locks placed on them, preventing them from being used.
Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are also considering legislation to stop changes at USPS in the lead up to the 2020 election. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) announced on Sunday that she would be recalling House lawmakers from their August recess in order to deal with the matter.
“Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American democracy are under threat from the president,” Pelosi said in her letter to colleagues.
It’s unclear whether the Republican-controlled Senate would take similar action in order to address the issue, although there is a bipartisan call from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to respond.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-17--Children Will Bear the Brunt of a Looming Eviction Crisis

Mikaela Johnson has a vague notion of a home she ’ d like to live in with her mother and her younger brother and sister .
“ A four-bedroom house , ” she said .
“ A backyard for sure .
Maybe a house that has no mold , no pests , no cracks , no floor that sinks.
” She paused .
“ Maybe I ’ m asking for too much.
” Mikaela just completed eighth grade .
She has lived the kind of transient life that school leaders worry about — especially now .
Educators know that moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upheavals created by the coronavirus will cause more instability for low-income families already struggling to find and afford decent housing .
“ Even before the pandemic we had an affordability crisis , ” said Mike Koprowski , national campaign director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition .
“ We think there ’ s going to be a wave of evictions if Congress doesn ’ t act on another relief package .
It ’ s going to further disrupt kids whose lives and learning processes have already been upended by school closures.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Defense Project , a coalition of economic researchers and legal experts , estimates that roughly 20 percent of the 110 million Americans who live in rented homes risk displacement by September 30 unless policymakers enact aggressive relief measures .
That would amount to 19 to 23 million people , many of them schoolchildren .
“ Even if it ’ s remote learning , the eviction is going to have an effect , ” said Lavar Edmonds , a research specialist at Princeton University ’ s Eviction Lab .
“ How are you going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classes at home if you don ’ t have the internet , if you ’ ve been kicked out of your home ?
” Those concerns are acute in the Kansas City region , where , according to an annual survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition , two of three very low-income families spend more than half of every dollar they earn on housing and utilities .
Only 33 affordable units are available for every 100 extremely low-income families .
Evictions are rampant and often mark the start of a slide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything , ” said Melissa Douglas , the liaison for homeless students in the Kansas City Public Schools district .
“ Moving from place to place is an unwarranted stress on adults and students .
We know that the more moves [ kids ’ ] families make , the more gaps in their education that they may have.
” And student moves can be especially problematic in Kansas City .
The metropolitan area , depending on how it ’ s defined , is a patchwork of 20 to 30 school districts .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily place a family in a different district .
The region also includes districts in both Missouri and Kansas , with schools using different curriculums and standards across the state line .
And 20 charter schools , some with multiple campuses , offer more choices but also more fluidity .
In 2015 , a study revealed that one in five students on the Missouri side of the Kansas City region had moved at least once in a calendar year , and that students who changed schools had poorer attendance and lower achievement rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More recent research from the Kansas City Public Schools district , in which nearly 40 percent of households with school-age children live in poverty , emphasized the flip side : Fifth graders who stayed in their schools for three consecutive years were twice as likely to score at proficient or advanced levels on state tests than children who switched schools ; 11th graders who had attended the same high school for three years had higher GPAs and ACT scores than their more transient classmates .
Mark Bedell , superintendent of Kansas City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impact students and schools .
Growing up poor in Rochester , New York , Bedell lived in 12 different homes from kindergarten through 12th grade and attended multiple schools — sometimes two or three in an academic year .
“ I personally understand the impact of what mobility can do socially and emotionally to children , ” Bedell said .
“ When you have to constantly restart , it ’ s depressing .
You have to constantly meet new students and teachers .
You ’ re leaving behind friends that you ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impact on academic performance.
” Ashley Johnson , 35 , experienced all of those setbacks .
“ I was a child of foster care , ” she said .
“ I know what it ’ s like to be in this school for two months , then another school for three months.
” When she could stay put for a while , she enjoyed school and made honor rolls , said Johnson , who spent her childhood in Arkansas .
But she struggled when she was forced to move .
Eventually she dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at age 16 .
After moving to Kansas City in her early 20s , Johnson spent some time in community college and at three separate for-profit career colleges , acquiring certifications as a personal trainer and a holistic wellness coach — but also a cumulative $ 30,000 in student debt .
She currently works a clerical job for a government agency and drives cabs intermittently , while trying to launch a holistic wellness business .
Although her family has moved many times , Johnson has up until now managed to maintain some stability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has attended just two schools : a Montessori-themed magnet school from preschool through sixth grade , and a middle school with neighborhood boundaries .
“ It ’ s been hard for us , ” her mother said .
“ But I always managed to get on a bus line and get her to school.
” She was able to do so even though the family resided in a different school district for a few months , because of a 1987 federal law , the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act , which guarantees an uninterrupted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ definition of homelessness .
Johnson learned about it through the Kansas City Public Schools ’ Students in Transition Office , which Douglas runs .
During the 2019-20 school year , Douglas said she and her staff worked with about 1,230 students whose families lacked a permanent residence .
They were doubled up with friends and relatives or living in motels or shelters .
About 30 students were “ unsheltered , ” meaning they lived in cars , campsites or abandoned houses .
In total , school districts in and around Kansas City work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Assistance can take many forms , such as laundry services , tutoring and the waiving of ACT costs and graduation fees .
But it often involves transportation .
On a typical school day , hundreds of taxis and minibuses crisscross the region , taking students to and from their “ school of origin ” — the one they enrolled in at the start of the academic year .
That ’ s what Douglas worked out for Mikaela .
A taxi picked her up on school mornings and transported her to school , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She returned home the same way .
School districts in the Kansas City region have relied more heavily on the McKinney-Vento mandate in recent years as more families have been priced out of housing .
This has cut down on student transience , but transporting hundreds of students , some for rides of half an hour or longer , is costly .
Kansas City Public Schools spends $ 700,000 to $ 1 million a year on rides for children in its Students in Transition program , Douglas said .
Educators also worry about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transported long distances .
“ We have conversations where we talk with families about best interests , ” Douglas said .
“ We need them to understand that this isn ’ t cheap .
And I feel some kind of weight putting a kindergartner in a cab by themselves for over an hour.
” Mikaela Johnson said she enjoyed her cab rides , although they sometimes got her to school late .
“ One lady driver was really , really cool , ” she said .
Academically , Mikaela held her own in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her school ’ s honor society and selected for a trip to visit civil rights landmarks in Memphis during Black History Month .
But she often was bored in classes , Mikaela said , and other students sometimes bullied her .
She had wanted to participate in student council and track , but her family ’ s unstable living situation got in the way .
“ Just busy at home , ” Mikaela said , with a shrug .
“ Always moving .
No correct transportation .
I can say I have grown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But it ’ s fine.
” Ashley Johnson said she wishes she could offer Mikaela a calmer adolescence .
“ My daughter , she is so motivating , so forgiving , ” she said .
“ We have been through so much , but she is a model student.
” Housing insecurity can have profound impacts on students ’ well-being and academic performance , Bedell said .
“ We can sometimes control that one variable , keeping children in the same school , ” he said .
“ But if they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to place , they ’ re still transient .
They still don ’ t know where they ’ re going to be sleeping from night to night.
” Traci Pettis Johnson , who works as a family school liaison at an elementary school in the Hickman Mills School District in south Kansas City , where families mostly rent their homes , sometimes pleads her students families ’ cases with landlords , trying to buy them time to pay rent and utility bills .
“ Consistency in education is key , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the floor , if you have to live with relatives who may be working different schedules , keeping children up at night , if you ’ re leaving a child with a younger sibling , then getting to school becomes less of a priority and staying awake in school becomes harder.
” As wages fail to keep pace with rising rents and housing costs , families across the nation are finding themselves in a bind , said Megan Gallagher , who studies the relationship between housing and educational opportunities for the Urban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Policy Center .
“ Many households with children have trouble finding housing that is affordable , stable , well constructed , the right size for a family and in an affordable neighborhood , ” Gallagher said .
Researchers refer to those characteristics as “ the housing bundle , ” and each one impacts education , Gallagher said .
“ Many , many families have to compromise or sacrifice at least one aspect of that bundle to get another , ” she said .
“ The issues of affordability are also issues of stability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school.
” Roughly 8 million extremely low-income renters spent more than half of their incomes on housing costs before the pandemic , according to a new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition , and more families are likely facing a similar cost burden now .
A forecasting model from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University anticipates that poverty levels in the United States this year will reach those seen during the Great Recession , and could climb close to 20 percent .
Affordable housing has always seemed out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acknowledges her rental history is not the best .
She ’ s been evicted twice , once after she fell for a work-at-home scheme , not realizing the money orders her “ employer ” paid her were fake .
She also left a few places without paying owed rent — usually after disputes with landlords about conditions .
She had an informal rent-to-own arrangement with the owner of a small house for a while , Johnson said , but the house needed expensive repairs she couldn ’ t afford .
They left there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when we started the hotel-hopping thing.
” The best place they ’ ve lived was a townhouse affiliated with a program that helps homeless families .
“ It was a very clean place , ” Mikaela said .
“ It was kind of spacious and I liked the fact that I had my own room.
” By that time , Johnson had given birth to Zach , who is now 3 .
She left the townhouse in 2018 to live with Zach ’ s father .
They broke up a short time later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zinnia , who now is nearly a year old .
“ Long story short , it ’ s been all downhill , ” Johnson said .
“ I thought I ’ d find another place instantly , but it hasn ’ t worked out for us.
” They now live in a privately owned “ transitional home , ” a house where rooms are rented out separately , and residents share bathrooms and a kitchen .
Johnson pays $ 500 a month to live with her three children in one bedroom .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s turned into a nightmare , she said .
When they moved there in the fall , the house was infested with bugs and rodents .
A rat chewed through the cord of her breastfeeding pump , Johnson said .
The refrigerator often didn ’ t work .
She reported the conditions to the Kansas City Health Department , which arranged a mediation with her and her landlady .
Since then , the rodent infestation has gotten better , but the place is barely habitable .
“ People keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you have a home.
’ ” Mikaela said .
“ Yeah , I have a roof over my head .
But no one should have to take those conditions .
There ’ s too many pests .
The ceiling is literally coming down .
The floor is sinking .
It should be torn down.
” Descriptions like that — and she hears many — outrage Douglas at Kansas City Public Schools .
The McKinney-Vento act considers a student to be homeless if they lack a “ fixed , regular and adequate nighttime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Adequate ’ is our big thing , ” Douglas said .
“ We ’ ve had families say they can ’ t walk across a room because there ’ s a big hole in the floor .
That ’ s not adequate .
Being rodent and pest-infested is not adequate.
” Johnson ’ s vision of an ideal home is simple .
“ Just a house , something that ’ s in my budget , ” she said .
“ Something where my kids will be able to play safely and get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Just coming home from work and being able to relax .
I haven ’ t had the ability to relax in years.
” Before the coronavirus pandemic , Kansas City residents were already pushing officials to address the frequency of evictions .
Researchers for the Kansas City Eviction Project published a study finding that landlords in Jackson County , where most of Kansas City is located , filed petitions to evict an average of 42 families per business day from 1999 to 2017 .
The pattern was so consistent the researchers suggested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of landlords in the city for whom eviction is a business model.
” Judges granted an average of 25 evictions per business day .
An activist group , KC Tenants , began showing up at public meetings and campaign forums , loudly demanding that public officials commit to protecting renters and improving housing conditions .
Ashley Johnson attends the group ’ s meetings and sometimes speaks up at public events about her housing struggles .
School leaders around Kansas City also started paying attention to the impact of evictions on families .
Bedell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures to lift up low-income citizens and neighborhoods .
“ Being somebody who ’ s lived through evictions and homelessness , this is personal to me , ” Bedell said .
“ I don ’ t want to be viewed as a superintendent or a person that made it and then dismissed all the struggles I went through in order to be here.
” In 2019 , the superintendent spoke on the steps of City Hall the day KC Tenants introduced its demand for a “ bill of rights ” intended to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landlords .
The Kansas City Council eventually met many of their demands in an ordinance .
Meanwhile , Bedell ’ s district and the Hickman Mills district teamed up with Legal Aid of Western Missouri to place lawyers and paralegals in school buildings to work with families in danger of being evicted .
With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic , families currently reach out to lawyers by phone or online .
And several school districts around Kansas City partnered with nonprofit and faith groups that offer emergency rent and utility payments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them was the Center School District , which , according to its administration , had a mobility rate of 27 percent in the 2018-19 academic year — meaning over a quarter of its students transferred into or out of its classrooms while schools were in session .
“ I would say that the No .
1 challenge is being able to maintain affordable , dignified housing in our district , ” said Stacy King , director of family and student services .
Through a program called Impact Center Schools , her district has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep families from becoming homeless .
The alliance has been able to help some families clear up their credit and erase evictions from their rental records , said Chris Buford , president of Serve the World Charities , a nonprofit that coordinates the work .
But that assistance often isn ’ t enough to keep working families in the district .
There simply isn ’ t enough appropriate housing to meet their needs .
“ Honestly , nobody should be living in those houses , ” Buford said .
“ In our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landlords and management companies that really have no interest in bettering this community.
” To address that issue , Serve the World and its partners are creating their own homes .
A team of real estate agents , community leaders and others have been recruiting investors to purchase houses , improve them and reserve them for families in the Impact Center program .
While Impact Center ’ s stated goal is to end homelessness in the district within four years , everyone knows that is ambitious .
In the absence of big public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even one family at a time is slow going .
As school districts in the region contemplate hard choices on reopening this fall , educators and others anticipate more instability for families and more students on the move .
Coronavirus cases are rising in the Kansas City region , forcing more businesses to lay off workers .
Landlords , who had been temporarily barred by local government orders from evicting tenants during the pandemic , are resuming those efforts as cities and counties lift the holds .
“ I expect our transience numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go up dramatically , ” Douglas said .
Koprowski at the National Low Income Housing Coalition said he thinks a spike will take place nationwide .
His coalition is seeking a second federal relief package that would include generous rental assistance .
“ I think we ’ re in a really dire situation , ” Koprowski said .
“ The problem with these moratoria on evictions is that the rent still piles up .
It ’ s not a rent-forgiveness program .
People who have lost incomes as a result of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pay the large sums that are coming due.
” Meantime , Ashley Johnson ’ s family may soon be on the move again .
Her landlady recently filed a legal motion to have her vacate the room she rents , even though she ’ s up to date on payments .
Johnson is making plans to fight the motion while also looking for a better place for her family to live .
Sometimes she eyes vacant houses in the neighborhood , wondering if they would work as a last resort .
Johnson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some overdue bills , but money is still tight .
She makes $ 14.50 an hour at her clerical job , but a portion of that is being garnished by a creditor .
Cab traffic is down and Johnson doesn ’ t feel safe transporting passengers during the pandemic .
And she ’ s had few takers for her fledgling holistic wellness business .
Mikaela ’ s high school plans are in limbo , with her school district uncertain about when students will be able to return to classrooms .
Mikaela tried to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spring , using a laptop and mobile hotspot loaned from the district , but it was tough in their small room , Johnson said .
Child care for the younger children was shut down for a while , and Mikaela spent a lot of time caring for her siblings .
“ She didn ’ t log in as much as she should have , ” Johnson said .
Mikaela still holds out hope for attending high school , and has identified the one where she ’ d like to enroll .
But her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may depend on resources increasingly out of reach for a school district coping with virus fears , state budget cuts and likely more student transience and poverty .
“ Maybe a school that recognizes that children of my age have problems at home and in the head also , ” Mikaela said .
“ I see a lot of teachers and people that don ’ t understand the reason children act the way they do is because of a situation at home .
Also , a school that teaches me something I need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maybe more counselors , after-school programs , stuff like that.
” This story about evictions was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit , independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education .
Sign up for Hechinger ’ s newsletter .

Eviction numbers in many big cities are staggering, and school districts struggle to serve kids constantly on the move.
Mikaela Johnson has a vague notion of a home she’d like to live in with her mother and her younger brother and sister.
“A four-bedroom house,” she said. “A backyard for sure. Maybe a house that has no mold, no pests, no cracks, no floor that sinks.”
She paused. “Maybe I’m asking for too much.”
Mikaela just completed eighth grade. She has lived the kind of transient life that school leaders worry about — especially now. Educators know that moving around disrupts learning. They fear the upheavals created by the coronavirus will cause more instability for low-income families already struggling to find and afford decent housing.
“Even before the pandemic we had an affordability crisis,” said Mike Koprowski, national campaign director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “We think there’s going to be a wave of evictions if Congress doesn’t act on another relief package. It’s going to further disrupt kids whose lives and learning processes have already been upended by school closures.”
A model created by the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, a coalition of economic researchers and legal experts, estimates that roughly 20 percent of the 110 million Americans who live in rented homes risk displacement by September 30 unless policymakers enact aggressive relief measures. That would amount to 19 to 23 million people, many of them schoolchildren.
“Even if it’s remote learning, the eviction is going to have an effect,” said Lavar Edmonds, a research specialist at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. “How are you going to do your homework or participate in classes at home if you don’t have the internet, if you’ve been kicked out of your home?”
Those concerns are acute in the Kansas City region, where, according to an annual survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, two of three very low-income families spend more than half of every dollar they earn on housing and utilities. Only 33 affordable units are available for every 100 extremely low-income families. Evictions are rampant and often mark the start of a slide into prolonged homelessness.
“Housing is everything,” said Melissa Douglas, the liaison for homeless students in the Kansas City Public Schools district. “Moving from place to place is an unwarranted stress on adults and students. We know that the more moves [kids’] families make, the more gaps in their education that they may have.”
And student moves can be especially problematic in Kansas City. The metropolitan area, depending on how it’s defined, is a patchwork of 20 to 30 school districts. A move of just a few blocks can easily place a family in a different district. The region also includes districts in both Missouri and Kansas, with schools using different curriculums and standards across the state line. And 20 charter schools, some with multiple campuses, offer more choices but also more fluidity.
In 2015, a study revealed that one in five students on the Missouri side of the Kansas City region had moved at least once in a calendar year, and that students who changed schools had poorer attendance and lower achievement rates than students who hadn’t moved. More recent research from the Kansas City Public Schools district, in which nearly 40 percent of households with school-age children live in poverty, emphasized the flip side: Fifth graders who stayed in their schools for three consecutive years were twice as likely to score at proficient or advanced levels on state tests than children who switched schools; 11th graders who had attended the same high school for three years had higher GPAs and ACT scores than their more transient classmates.
Mark Bedell, superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, understands how housing crises impact students and schools. Growing up poor in Rochester, New York, Bedell lived in 12 different homes from kindergarten through 12th grade and attended multiple schools — sometimes two or three in an academic year.
“I personally understand the impact of what mobility can do socially and emotionally to children,” Bedell said. “When you have to constantly restart, it’s depressing. You have to constantly meet new students and teachers. You’re leaving behind friends that you’ve met. It also has a negative impact on academic performance.”
Ashley Johnson, 35, experienced all of those setbacks.
“I was a child of foster care,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be in this school for two months, then another school for three months.”
When she could stay put for a while, she enjoyed school and made honor rolls, said Johnson, who spent her childhood in Arkansas. But she struggled when she was forced to move. Eventually she dropped out of school and earned her GED at age 16.
After moving to Kansas City in her early 20s, Johnson spent some time in community college and at three separate for-profit career colleges, acquiring certifications as a personal trainer and a holistic wellness coach — but also a cumulative $30,000 in student debt. She currently works a clerical job for a government agency and drives cabs intermittently, while trying to launch a holistic wellness business.
Although her family has moved many times, Johnson has up until now managed to maintain some stability in school for Mikaela. The teenager has attended just two schools: a Montessori-themed magnet school from preschool through sixth grade, and a middle school with neighborhood boundaries.
“It’s been hard for us,” her mother said. “But I always managed to get on a bus line and get her to school.”
She was able to do so even though the family resided in a different school district for a few months, because of a 1987 federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which guarantees an uninterrupted education to students who meet a broad definition of homelessness. Johnson learned about it through the Kansas City Public Schools’ Students in Transition Office, which Douglas runs.
During the 2019-20 school year, Douglas said she and her staff worked with about 1,230 students whose families lacked a permanent residence. They were doubled up with friends and relatives or living in motels or shelters. About 30 students were “unsheltered,” meaning they lived in cars, campsites or abandoned houses.
In total, school districts in and around Kansas City work with several thousand homeless students each year. Assistance can take many forms, such as laundry services, tutoring and the waiving of ACT costs and graduation fees. But it often involves transportation. On a typical school day, hundreds of taxis and minibuses crisscross the region, taking students to and from their “school of origin” — the one they enrolled in at the start of the academic year.
That’s what Douglas worked out for Mikaela. A taxi picked her up on school mornings and transported her to school, a ride of about 30 minutes. She returned home the same way.
School districts in the Kansas City region have relied more heavily on the McKinney-Vento mandate in recent years as more families have been priced out of housing. This has cut down on student transience, but transporting hundreds of students, some for rides of half an hour or longer, is costly. Kansas City Public Schools spends $700,000 to $1 million a year on rides for children in its Students in Transition program, Douglas said.
Educators also worry about the safety and well-being of children being transported long distances. “We have conversations where we talk with families about best interests,” Douglas said. “We need them to understand that this isn’t cheap. And I feel some kind of weight putting a kindergartner in a cab by themselves for over an hour.”
Mikaela Johnson said she enjoyed her cab rides, although they sometimes got her to school late. “One lady driver was really, really cool,” she said.
Academically, Mikaela held her own in middle school. She was inducted into her school’s honor society and selected for a trip to visit civil rights landmarks in Memphis during Black History Month. But she often was bored in classes, Mikaela said, and other students sometimes bullied her. She had wanted to participate in student council and track, but her family’s unstable living situation got in the way.
“Just busy at home,” Mikaela said, with a shrug. “Always moving. No correct transportation. I can say I have grown distant from a lot of friends. But it’s fine.”
Ashley Johnson said she wishes she could offer Mikaela a calmer adolescence. “My daughter, she is so motivating, so forgiving,” she said. “We have been through so much, but she is a model student.”
Housing insecurity can have profound impacts on students’ well-being and academic performance, Bedell said. “We can sometimes control that one variable, keeping children in the same school,” he said. “But if they’re moving from shelter to shelter and place to place, they’re still transient. They still don’t know where they’re going to be sleeping from night to night.”
Traci Pettis Johnson, who works as a family school liaison at an elementary school in the Hickman Mills School District in south Kansas City, where families mostly rent their homes, sometimes pleads her students families’ cases with landlords, trying to buy them time to pay rent and utility bills.
“Consistency in education is key,” she said. “If you have to sleep on the floor, if you have to live with relatives who may be working different schedules, keeping children up at night, if you’re leaving a child with a younger sibling, then getting to school becomes less of a priority and staying awake in school becomes harder.”
As wages fail to keep pace with rising rents and housing costs, families across the nation are finding themselves in a bind, said Megan Gallagher, who studies the relationship between housing and educational opportunities for the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. “Many households with children have trouble finding housing that is affordable, stable, well constructed, the right size for a family and in an affordable neighborhood,” Gallagher said.
Researchers refer to those characteristics as “the housing bundle,” and each one impacts education, Gallagher said. “Many, many families have to compromise or sacrifice at least one aspect of that bundle to get another,” she said. “The issues of affordability are also issues of stability and safety and health and success at school.”
Roughly 8 million extremely low-income renters spent more than half of their incomes on housing costs before the pandemic, according to a new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, and more families are likely facing a similar cost burden now. A forecasting model from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University anticipates that poverty levels in the United States this year will reach those seen during the Great Recession, and could climb close to 20 percent.
Affordable housing has always seemed out of reach for Ashley Johnson, who acknowledges her rental history is not the best. She’s been evicted twice, once after she fell for a work-at-home scheme, not realizing the money orders her “employer” paid her were fake. She also left a few places without paying owed rent — usually after disputes with landlords about conditions.
She had an informal rent-to-own arrangement with the owner of a small house for a while, Johnson said, but the house needed expensive repairs she couldn’t afford. They left there in 2015 and “that’s when we started the hotel-hopping thing.”
The best place they’ve lived was a townhouse affiliated with a program that helps homeless families.
“It was a very clean place,” Mikaela said. “It was kind of spacious and I liked the fact that I had my own room.”
By that time, Johnson had given birth to Zach, who is now 3. She left the townhouse in 2018 to live with Zach’s father. They broke up a short time later, when Johnson was pregnant again with Zinnia, who now is nearly a year old.
“Long story short, it’s been all downhill,” Johnson said. “I thought I’d find another place instantly, but it hasn’t worked out for us.”
They now live in a privately owned “transitional home,” a house where rooms are rented out separately, and residents share bathrooms and a kitchen. Johnson pays $500 a month to live with her three children in one bedroom. She thought the place would be a godsend, but it’s turned into a nightmare, she said.
When they moved there in the fall, the house was infested with bugs and rodents. A rat chewed through the cord of her breastfeeding pump, Johnson said. The refrigerator often didn’t work. She reported the conditions to the Kansas City Health Department, which arranged a mediation with her and her landlady. Since then, the rodent infestation has gotten better, but the place is barely habitable.
“People keep saying, ‘you should be blessed, you have a home.’” Mikaela said. “Yeah, I have a roof over my head. But no one should have to take those conditions. There’s too many pests. The ceiling is literally coming down. The floor is sinking. It should be torn down.”
Descriptions like that — and she hears many — outrage Douglas at Kansas City Public Schools. The McKinney-Vento act considers a student to be homeless if they lack a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence,” she noted.
“ ‘Adequate’ is our big thing,” Douglas said. “We’ve had families say they can’t walk across a room because there’s a big hole in the floor. That’s not adequate. Being rodent and pest-infested is not adequate.”
Johnson’s vision of an ideal home is simple. “Just a house, something that’s in my budget,” she said. “Something where my kids will be able to play safely and get back and forth to their schooling safely. Just coming home from work and being able to relax. I haven’t had the ability to relax in years.”
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Kansas City residents were already pushing officials to address the frequency of evictions. Researchers for the Kansas City Eviction Project published a study finding that landlords in Jackson County, where most of Kansas City is located, filed petitions to evict an average of 42 families per business day from 1999 to 2017. The pattern was so consistent the researchers suggested that “there could be a core of landlords in the city for whom eviction is a business model.” Judges granted an average of 25 evictions per business day.
An activist group, KC Tenants, began showing up at public meetings and campaign forums, loudly demanding that public officials commit to protecting renters and improving housing conditions. Ashley Johnson attends the group’s meetings and sometimes speaks up at public events about her housing struggles.
School leaders around Kansas City also started paying attention to the impact of evictions on families. Bedell in particular became a vocal supporter of measures to lift up low-income citizens and neighborhoods. “Being somebody who’s lived through evictions and homelessness, this is personal to me,” Bedell said. “I don’t want to be viewed as a superintendent or a person that made it and then dismissed all the struggles I went through in order to be here.”
In 2019, the superintendent spoke on the steps of City Hall the day KC Tenants introduced its demand for a “bill of rights” intended to give renters more power in their relationships with landlords. The Kansas City Council eventually met many of their demands in an ordinance.
Meanwhile, Bedell’s district and the Hickman Mills district teamed up with Legal Aid of Western Missouri to place lawyers and paralegals in school buildings to work with families in danger of being evicted. With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, families currently reach out to lawyers by phone or online.
And several school districts around Kansas City partnered with nonprofit and faith groups that offer emergency rent and utility payments, counseling and job placement. Among them was the Center School District, which, according to its administration, had a mobility rate of 27 percent in the 2018-19 academic year — meaning over a quarter of its students transferred into or out of its classrooms while schools were in session.
“I would say that the No. 1 challenge is being able to maintain affordable, dignified housing in our district,” said Stacy King, director of family and student services.
Through a program called Impact Center Schools, her district has formed an alliance with multiple community partners to keep families from becoming homeless. The alliance has been able to help some families clear up their credit and erase evictions from their rental records, said Chris Buford, president of Serve the World Charities, a nonprofit that coordinates the work. But that assistance often isn’t enough to keep working families in the district. There simply isn’t enough appropriate housing to meet their needs.
“Honestly, nobody should be living in those houses,” Buford said. “In our experience, that comes down to out-of-town landlords and management companies that really have no interest in bettering this community.”
To address that issue, Serve the World and its partners are creating their own homes. A team of real estate agents, community leaders and others have been recruiting investors to purchase houses, improve them and reserve them for families in the Impact Center program.
While Impact Center’s stated goal is to end homelessness in the district within four years, everyone knows that is ambitious. In the absence of big public policy initiatives, the work of saving even one family at a time is slow going.
As school districts in the region contemplate hard choices on reopening this fall, educators and others anticipate more instability for families and more students on the move. Coronavirus cases are rising in the Kansas City region, forcing more businesses to lay off workers. Landlords, who had been temporarily barred by local government orders from evicting tenants during the pandemic, are resuming those efforts as cities and counties lift the holds.
“I expect our transience numbers, and numbers across the state, to go up dramatically,” Douglas said.
Koprowski at the National Low Income Housing Coalition said he thinks a spike will take place nationwide. His coalition is seeking a second federal relief package that would include generous rental assistance.
“I think we’re in a really dire situation,” Koprowski said. “The problem with these moratoria on evictions is that the rent still piles up. It’s not a rent-forgiveness program. People who have lost incomes as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak are really going to struggle to pay the large sums that are coming due.”
Meantime, Ashley Johnson’s family may soon be on the move again. Her landlady recently filed a legal motion to have her vacate the room she rents, even though she’s up to date on payments. Johnson is making plans to fight the motion while also looking for a better place for her family to live. Sometimes she eyes vacant houses in the neighborhood, wondering if they would work as a last resort.
Johnson used her one-time stimulus check to pay some overdue bills, but money is still tight. She makes $14.50 an hour at her clerical job, but a portion of that is being garnished by a creditor. Cab traffic is down and Johnson doesn’t feel safe transporting passengers during the pandemic. And she’s had few takers for her fledgling holistic wellness business. Mikaela’s high school plans are in limbo, with her school district uncertain about when students will be able to return to classrooms.
Mikaela tried to keep up with online classes in the spring, using a laptop and mobile hotspot loaned from the district, but it was tough in their small room, Johnson said. Child care for the younger children was shut down for a while, and Mikaela spent a lot of time caring for her siblings. “She didn’t log in as much as she should have,” Johnson said.
Mikaela still holds out hope for attending high school, and has identified the one where she’d like to enroll. But her wish list for a high school experience may depend on resources increasingly out of reach for a school district coping with virus fears, state budget cuts and likely more student transience and poverty.
“Maybe a school that recognizes that children of my age have problems at home and in the head also,” Mikaela said. “I see a lot of teachers and people that don’t understand the reason children act the way they do is because of a situation at home. Also, a school that teaches me something I need to know, something useful. And maybe more counselors, after-school programs, stuff like that.”
This story about evictions was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.
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truthout--2020-08-17--The 2020 Democratic Convention Could Be a Tech Debacle or an Ambitious Feat

What do you suppose the Democrats will be talking about at their “ convention ” this week ?
The U.S. crossed the threshold of 170,000 COVID deaths last night ; with more than 5.4 million infections , our country is the most virus-riddled nation on the face of the Earth .
In response , the president of the United States has begun pushing “ an extract from the oleander plant as a dietary supplement to cure COVID-19 , despite lack of proof that it works , ” according to Axios .
Donald Trump apparently got the oleander idea from Housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ben Carson , and from Mike Lindell , the guy who founded MyPillow.com and who has a financial stake in the company that makes the supplement .
Oleander in the wild is deadly ; a single leaf can kill a child .
In my mind ’ s eye , I see Trump supporters plucking oleander plants to make tea , because I remember all the calls to poison control centers that came in after Trump publicly mused about the possibility of using disinfectant inside of one ’ s body to kill COVID .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Greenland ice sheet has “ passed the point of no return , ” meaning that if we stopped climate disruption on a dime tomorrow , that ice sheet will still disappear into the oceans , causing them to rise .
Our planet is still very sick , and the fact that we got sick as well has not changed the dire ecological circumstances one bit .
When presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tapped California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate last week , the eruption of racist “ birther ” nonsense from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was predictable .
The ongoing anti-racism uprising across the country has found no purchase in the overmind at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue , to the astonishment of precisely none .
The COVID-19 calamity has not broken the United States .
It has revealed what was broken already , and what has been broken for a long time .
Our for-profit medical industry — amazing , that word , and where it appears in our system ; the prison “ industry , ” for example — has been deliberately stripped for parts and strains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or linger for years .
With more than 30 million people out of work , and with a Republican senate stalling aid to the people because they can not reach a caucus consensus on ordering breakfast , mighty capitalism thrums like a crystal goblet on the sonic edge of shattering .
That this is fundamentally a good thing in the long run does not mitigate the complexities that await when the Wall Street bull finally crumbles .
Only leadership can mitigate that , and leadership has been in short supply for a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump was asked during a Saturday press conference why he is not negotiating a new COVID stimulus/relief package with Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats .
“ The country is doing very well right now , ” he replied .
“ We can live very happily with it or without it.
” And there you have it .
There is no dearth of hugely important topics for Democratic political heavyweights to take on .
If the words “ United States Postal Service ” are not on the lips of every speaker until the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , however , the party will live to regret it on election night , and every night after .
The postal service is being deliberately sabotaged from within by a Trump crony who is heavily invested in USPS competitors in the private sector .
As the pandemic rages , the USPS is democracy ’ s lifeline in November , and Trump is trashing it in broad daylight because he fears losing .
“ The president ’ s apparatchiks are now sealing up mailboxes and hauling others away , ” writes Jack Holmes for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail sorting machines from United States Postal Service facilities .
They are destroying a core public service of this country — an agency pioneered by Benjamin Franklin and expressly laid out in the Constitution — in order to stop people from voting by mail .
In the short term , they will cut some citizens off from a service they depend on , and deal serious damage to American companies .
They will do this in order to attack the voting rights of American citizens.
” I am confident that at least some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towering issues with the vigor they require .
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will speak tonight , as will New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , whose state was among the hardest hit by the pandemic last spring .
Sanders is expected to give his full-throated support to Biden , as he has done since his campaign ended .
His progressive voice will be most welcome on a night that features a long slate of “ centrist ” and conservative Democratic speakers : Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama , Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Kasich , the former Republican governor of Ohio .
Capping this evening ’ s program will be an address by former First Lady Michelle Obama , and if her speech tonight is anything like the one she gave at the 2016 convention , it is likely to be well received by the many voters — including many Black women voters , who are the backbone of the Democratic party base — who are eager to hear her now endorse a ticket with the country ’ s first Black woman vice presidential nominee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the week will likewise reflect the center-right tilt of the Biden/Harris ticket .
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates will speak Tuesday , but so will John Kerry , Chuck Schumer and Bill Clinton .
Sen. Elizabeth Warren will speak Wednesday , but so will Hillary Clinton , Kamala Harris , Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama .
Andrew Yang and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will speak Thursday , but so will Pete Buttigieg , Chris Coons and , finally , Joe Biden .
Tilt or not , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together for this thing , or it will be a national four-day humiliation that could let Trump back into the race at a moment when his numbers are cratering across the board .
During this convention , according to The Washington Post , “ a behind-the-scenes crew of about 400 with operation centers in New York , Milwaukee , Los Angeles and Wilmington , Del.
, plans to broadcast to the nation hundreds of live video feeds from living rooms , national monuments and stages around the country.
” That is an enormous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off more tech than they can chew , if the feeds fail or slur due to bad connections , or if some outside agency lays siege to the process ( which I am personally certain is thoroughly inevitable ) , folks watching at home will flip back to Netflix while pondering , again , how it is that the party manages to trip over itself at nearly every critical opportunity .
If they get the tech right , this may be a finely tuned event .
If they screw it up , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , party conventions have been little more than television shows , gaudy infomercials to highlight party stars and stalwarts while reminding everyone how awful the other guys are .
It ’ s been a four-day party in the bars and hotels in the past , but that ’ s all over for now .
This year , we will instead have a national Zoom meeting in a moment of massive and intersecting crises , a necessarily somber affair that hopefully reflects and acknowledges the fear , rage and dismay that is loose upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shall see .

This year’s Democratic National Convention will be a far cry from the four-day parties and gaudy spectacles of the past.
What do you suppose the Democrats will be talking about at their “convention” this week?
The U.S. crossed the threshold of 170,000 COVID deaths last night; with more than 5.4 million infections, our country is the most virus-riddled nation on the face of the Earth. In response, the president of the United States has begun pushing “an extract from the oleander plant as a dietary supplement to cure COVID-19, despite lack of proof that it works,” according to Axios.
Donald Trump apparently got the oleander idea from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, and from Mike Lindell, the guy who founded MyPillow.com and who has a financial stake in the company that makes the supplement. Oleander in the wild is deadly; a single leaf can kill a child. In my mind’s eye, I see Trump supporters plucking oleander plants to make tea, because I remember all the calls to poison control centers that came in after Trump publicly mused about the possibility of using disinfectant inside of one’s body to kill COVID.
On Saturday, scientists declared that the Greenland ice sheet has “passed the point of no return,” meaning that if we stopped climate disruption on a dime tomorrow, that ice sheet will still disappear into the oceans, causing them to rise. Our planet is still very sick, and the fact that we got sick as well has not changed the dire ecological circumstances one bit.
When presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tapped California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate last week, the eruption of racist “birther” nonsense from the White House was as immediate as it was predictable. The ongoing anti-racism uprising across the country has found no purchase in the overmind at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, to the astonishment of precisely none.
The COVID-19 calamity has not broken the United States. It has revealed what was broken already, and what has been broken for a long time. Our for-profit medical industry — amazing, that word, and where it appears in our system; the prison “industry,” for example — has been deliberately stripped for parts and strains to contain a pandemic that may last or linger for years.
With more than 30 million people out of work, and with a Republican senate stalling aid to the people because they cannot reach a caucus consensus on ordering breakfast, mighty capitalism thrums like a crystal goblet on the sonic edge of shattering. That this is fundamentally a good thing in the long run does not mitigate the complexities that await when the Wall Street bull finally crumbles. Only leadership can mitigate that, and leadership has been in short supply for a very long time.
Speaking of leadership, Trump was asked during a Saturday press conference why he is not negotiating a new COVID stimulus/relief package with Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats. “The country is doing very well right now,” he replied. “We can live very happily with it or without it.”
And there you have it.
There is no dearth of hugely important topics for Democratic political heavyweights to take on. If the words “United States Postal Service” are not on the lips of every speaker until the balloons drop in Biden’s basement, however, the party will live to regret it on election night, and every night after. The postal service is being deliberately sabotaged from within by a Trump crony who is heavily invested in USPS competitors in the private sector. As the pandemic rages, the USPS is democracy’s lifeline in November, and Trump is trashing it in broad daylight because he fears losing.
Historically, party conventions have been little more than television shows. This year, we will instead have a national Zoom meeting in a moment of massive and intersecting crises.
“The president’s apparatchiks are now sealing up mailboxes and hauling others away,” writes Jack Holmes for Esquire. “They’re removing mail sorting machines from United States Postal Service facilities. They are destroying a core public service of this country — an agency pioneered by Benjamin Franklin and expressly laid out in the Constitution — in order to stop people from voting by mail. In the short term, they will cut some citizens off from a service they depend on, and deal serious damage to American companies. They will do this in order to attack the voting rights of American citizens.”
I am confident that at least some of the convention speakers will address these towering issues with the vigor they require. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will speak tonight, as will New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state was among the hardest hit by the pandemic last spring.
Sanders is expected to give his full-throated support to Biden, as he has done since his campaign ended. His progressive voice will be most welcome on a night that features a long slate of “centrist” and conservative Democratic speakers: Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and John Kasich, the former Republican governor of Ohio.
Capping this evening’s program will be an address by former First Lady Michelle Obama, and if her speech tonight is anything like the one she gave at the 2016 convention, it is likely to be well received by the many voters — including many Black women voters, who are the backbone of the Democratic party base — who are eager to hear her now endorse a ticket with the country’s first Black woman vice presidential nominee.
The speakers for the rest of the week will likewise reflect the center-right tilt of the Biden/Harris ticket. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates will speak Tuesday, but so will John Kerry, Chuck Schumer and Bill Clinton. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will speak Wednesday, but so will Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. Andrew Yang and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will speak Thursday, but so will Pete Buttigieg, Chris Coons and, finally, Joe Biden.
Tilt or not, the Democrats better have their technological shit together for this thing, or it will be a national four-day humiliation that could let Trump back into the race at a moment when his numbers are cratering across the board. During this convention, according to The Washington Post, “a behind-the-scenes crew of about 400 with operation centers in New York, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Wilmington, Del., plans to broadcast to the nation hundreds of live video feeds from living rooms, national monuments and stages around the country.”
That is an enormous undertaking. If the Democrats have bitten off more tech than they can chew, if the feeds fail or slur due to bad connections, or if some outside agency lays siege to the process (which I am personally certain is thoroughly inevitable), folks watching at home will flip back to Netflix while pondering, again, how it is that the party manages to trip over itself at nearly every critical opportunity. If they get the tech right, this may be a finely tuned event. If they screw it up, it could become a race-altering debacle.
Historically, party conventions have been little more than television shows, gaudy infomercials to highlight party stars and stalwarts while reminding everyone how awful the other guys are. It’s been a four-day party in the bars and hotels in the past, but that’s all over for now.
This year, we will instead have a national Zoom meeting in a moment of massive and intersecting crises, a necessarily somber affair that hopefully reflects and acknowledges the fear, rage and dismay that is loose upon the land. As ever, we shall see.
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