Seniors Displaced By California's Rising Rents | NBC News

[Music] I've worked all of my life since I was a teenager I've paid my dues as a lot of people have and now we're made to feel like well now that we've taken everything from you we don't need you anymore so go away you're being displaced unless you can afford to pay that extra high rent and our question was okay so what do we do where's the affordable housing where we can go I don't know it's kind of the attitude I don't know and I don't care I had a bed I had to give that away I had a couch gave that away tables and chairs clothes shoes things that I knew I wouldn't have room for I just had to be okay with letting him go Cheryl my niece is 73 years old and after a lifetime of having her own place she now finds herself living without a home of her own in March she learned her rent was going up more than $500 from 850 to 1395 more than her monthly Social Security check she's been sleeping on her sister's couch ever since May her things now in a storage locker Rookie of the Year award or when she started playing volleyball so that was a definite keepsake I was part of the the movement the freedom movement back in the day and we had to fight for everything fight for a place to live like for a job fight to keep the job fight to earn the same income fight fight fight and I'm older now and I'm like why am I still fighting for someplace to live that I can afford Sharyl retired after a career in HR at defense contractor Northrop Grumman she says she worries about not getting back into a place of her own yeah it's just hurtful and if you drive the streets you'll see elderly people on the streets [Music] [Music] that's right when I start to talk about it's hurtful LA County has one of the largest homeless populations in the country roughly fifty three thousand people in 2018 a number that's nearly doubled since 2012 the elderly many of whom are on fixed incomes are particularly vulnerable the number of homeless people aged 62 and up increased 22 percent this year while all other groups declined folks like Cheryl who are staying with friends and family aren't accounted for the so-called middle class that doesn't exist anymore there's the rich and then there's the rest of us that's how I feel that's what I see and as they bring in more people with this gentrification and all this so-called redevelopment it's it's just a means to get rid of a certain segment of people throwaway people is what I call it you know we don't need these people so let's throw on the wait but they don't care where they go just get out of our neighborhood [Music] Cheryl's old neighborhood has changed in recent years SpaceX and Tesla moved in while rent went up she took us to her old apartment building to visit friends as she does from time to time this was my spot right here Cheryl told us most of her neighbors have moved out because they couldn't afford the new rent some moved out of state others got roommates we talked to remaining tenants who told us they were struggling to hold on Eleanor Ramos works at nearby Los Angeles International Airport like many tenants here Mario Reyes rent was raised more than 50 percent this year from 750 to 1150 per month [Music] Emily don't pillow [Music] see they convey any being is you know I'll say yeah pay into the police Reiki when bitter Amy Porter kdeeny outside me hey no hey mutiny okay kW tenemos on the eve how cool or out a movie ciao dear aunty he's a character in your I see Pakistan Lindo Karen McGill who also works at the airport told us her rent was raised four hundred and ninety five dollars per month if I need to eat I can't afford it I just go to Costco breakfast lunch and dinner is Costco free samples that's the best place ever you know it could have done it a little bit at a time I got to get that did it get that 1,300 whatever the $500 bus didn't do that it just went straight up to 500 bucks we reached out to the landlord multiple times but never heard back but in most places in LA County landlords can raise the rent without limit so long as they give 60 days notice before the lease is up le County's own homeless Authority says they need five hundred and sixty-five thousand new affordable units to meet demand and they report that since 2000 the median rent in the county has increased 32 percent while median renter household income has decreased three percent I walk these stairs beauty a day [Music] Sheryl's now been living at her sister's for more than six months and she says she's unable to find housing in her community that's within her budget where is the heart where's the caring about people in general I don't see it it's like where does it stop [Music] hey NBC News viewers thanks for checking out our YouTube channel subscribe by clicking on that button down here and click on any of the videos over here to watch the latest interviews show highlights and digital exclusives thanks for watching

Channel: NBC News

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Keywords: nbc news, nbc, news, news channel, news station, newspaper, breaking news, us news, world news, politics, nightly news, current events, top stories, pop culture, business, health, Economy, Digital Docs, Digital Original Video, In Focus, Latest Stories, cheryl menise, rising rents, Seniors Displaced, landlord, landlord tips, landlord fight, landlord app, landlord abuse, landlord caught, landlord court, landlord crazy, landlord dispute, landlord documents, landlord expenses

Id: SABUV9Wkdqc

Length: 8min 18sec (498 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 31 2018