Last week, I had a meeting with Marco (this is a fictitious name to protect his privacy). He is a rideshare driver who resides in Oak Cliff with his mom. When his car needed repairs, his income dropped, and he fell behind on rent. 

One of the highlights of my year was being at a weekly volunteer meeting when I heard how many “almost evictions” got turned around. While not every story ends perfectly, many stories did end with a family remaining housed.

Going forward, we plan to strengthen relationships and communication with landlords. Landlords are more willing to stop filings when they know that a family is working with us on payment plan options. 

A week ago, a single mother named Kendra (a pseudonym to protect her privacy) reached out to Escape Eviction from the South Dallas region. She was on the verge of being locked out of her apartment just a few days before Christmas. She wasn’t careless. She was employed. She made a partial payment. She recently received an unexpected bill and fell behind, which came at the worst possible time of year. “I don’t even want any gifts,” she told me. “I just want my kids to wake up in the same bed on Christmas morning.”

That phrase still echoes in my mind.

We all know what homelessness looks like. People living on the street, in tents or under overpasses, asking for money—right? These are the most obvious signs of the housing crisis, and you can see them any time you drive through Dallas. But what about the side of homelessness we don’t see?