Young woman faces eviction, hopes her story helps others

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Housing insecurity is becoming an increasingly dire issue during the pandemic as people lose their jobs and go without paychecks. 

De’inara Carter, 22, faced eviction herself when she was younger. She said the pandemic brings this issue to the surface for her again. 

“It’s just a grim reality.

“The first time I ever had any kind of housing insecurity was when I was five. And we were living in a cute little neighborhood … and it was then discovered that my dad was a convicted felon, and to this day I don’t know what really happened. But we were issued a seven-day eviction notice,” said Carter. 

On Monday night, Carter told her story at a rally hosted by the Anti-Eviction Network at the Warren County Justice Center in downtown Bowling Green. She said she always faced the possibility of eviction at the beginning of the pandemic, but had friends and family to help her. If not for them, she said she would be out on the streets. 

Rally organizer Amanda Beavin says that what Congress has done so far to protect people isn’t enough. 

“We just believe during a pandemic that when the best thing you can do is to stay home is that eviction should not be happening, period. And we’ve seen that the preventions they’ve put in place like the CDC moratorium and the rent relief hasn’t been enough to prevent that since we’ve still been seeing and hearing of people being evicted,” said Carter. 

Carter wants people to know that eviction is more common than people think and doesn’t just affect a certain population. 

“It has nothing to do with a lack of education. I’ve gone to college, I’ve had a full scholarship I can’t afford college, I never could afford college. It’s these kinds of paths that we keep trying to put people on,” said Carter. 

Carter said this time has made her feel sad and invisible but the rally and involvement of others also gives her a sense that things will get better in the future.