Affordable housing is a major problem throughout the country and in Hampton Roads.
Right now a program exists that could help improve your rental history.
Back in the 1990s, Janet James had a successful career in the insurance industry. She was a single mother with her daughters in private school and her own home in Richmond, but when her company downsized, her life changed almost overnight.
"How can I grow up poor, get the great American dream and it just evaporates in three months," James said.
In three months, she said her savings were gone, her family was homeless, and James was depressed.
"They had repossessed my car, which was hugely embarrassing to see them come up and hook up your car and take it away," James said. "Food stamps today are very different. It used to be you had to tear stuff out of the coupon book, so everybody knew you were using food stamps."
She was devastated, first living with a family friend, then moving to public housing and facing major financial hardship.
"How could this happen to me," James said.
James says she found hope when she walked into a Legal Aid office. Legal Aid provides free or low-cost legal help to low-income people with civil issues like housing, family matters, and public benefits.
"I think about the people. I think about how frightening it was when I was homeless and I went to Legal Aid and I was so glad that there was a Legal Aid because it was scary," James said.
Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia has a program, funded through a grant that works to improve a person's rental history — and in some cases, previous issues can be expunged if rent was eventually paid.
They said many people are unaware this option exists.
Tricia Batson of the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia said the program helps clients make sure their records accurately reflect their tenant history.
"We know how hard it is to find housing in Hampton Roads and our clients are low-income clients, so we know it's even harder for them and anything on their record that prevents them from getting housing, it's just another barrier for them to find housing," Batson said.
Batson said the program has helped over 5,800 household members in the community.
"We want to make sure that the records that are there accurately reflect their tenant history and if they're paid, they should be marked as paid," Batson said. "It's not just the client we're helping. It's the family and it's helping to create the family's stability and allowing the family to find housing.”
The need comes at a time when affordable housing is in short supply across the region and the nation. Aaron Phipps, president and CEO of the Lawson Companies, said the problem is happening here and around the country.
"As it sits right now, our population growth both in the area and throughout the United States, we're outpacing our housing stock and the amount of housing that we're producing," Phipps said. "This is a challenge that faces us all, and we all need to be part of finding a solution."
For James, the story did not end in the projects. She went to law school at nearly 40 years old and now works for Legal Aid, helping others navigate the same system that once helped her.
"There are people who could be like I was, where you're doing well, then something happens, then all of the sudden you're in a whole different ball game," James said. "There's something about hope — when I went to Legal Aid at my lowest, it gave me hope."
