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Southern Indiana prepares for surge in evictions once nationwide moratorium ends

The federal eviction moratorium is set to expire on June 30.

INDIANA, USA — In December 2020, Levi Morrow was behind in rent and questioning how he was going to care for his family. But the federal eviction moratorium was in place and he thought he was safe. 

"It gives me some extra time to hold off you know. You can't really expect them to hold off for forever you know," Morrow said in December. 

Morrow never caught up on rent. He, his wife, and their young child were evicted from their apartment in May. 

The federal eviction moratorium is set to expire on June 30, and Leslea Townsend Cronin, the Executive Director of the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana, is expecting a surge of evictions.  

"To date, just in Harrison County, Clark, and Floyd County, we've already seen since March about 200 people coming through for at risk for eviction," Townsend Cronin said. 

Census data shows that six million households are still behind on rent and could face eviction at the end of June.

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If you are at risk there are multiple resources available offering rental assistance in Southern Indiana.

Cronin is hopeful that legislation will be passed that expunges evictions off of people's records that were due to the pandemic. She says it can create problems in the future when trying to buy a home.

"The fact that this is going to stop me from buying a home to pass down to my son really bothers me and now I have to come up with $3,000 to just have a magical life again," Morrow said. 

Click here for more information on eviction prevention services.

    

Contact reporter Elle Smith at esmith@whas11.com or on her social media outlets: Facebook or Twitter. 

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