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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Rental Assistance and Lack of Affordable Housing

Chronic poverty leads many to South Jersey motel roomsBy Kim Mulford, May 16, 2014, Courier-Post: “Charlene Ahing, her fiance and their baby boy have been living in a room at the Red Carpet Inn in Pemberton since October. The 36-year-old couple both have health problems, no jobs, no car and no permanent place to call home. They receive assistance from Burlington County to stay at the Browns Mills motel. Though there are few cars in the parking lot, the motel is filled with families like Ahing’s. Her room includes a small refrigerator and a microwave, making it expensive to eat. They would rather live in an apartment, but can’t find a better place that will accept Temporary Rental Assistance. ‘It’s been horrible,’ notes Ahing, holding a fuzzy blue blanket around her pink-cheeked baby. ‘Every month, you hope that welfare’s going to pay your rent. I don’t know what I would do if they stopped paying for this.’ There is no easy way out, advocates say. . .”