CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A local nonprofit that provides rental assistance for the working poor says the need is skyrocketing, and the loss of SNAP benefits for many of their clients has made the problem even worse.
Kinyada Murphy said she usually likes a quiet car when she drives, but one day last year, she made an exception.
She told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen that’s when she heard a public service announcement that changed her life.
The single mother was awarded a full year of free rent.
“It’s a big weight off your shoulders to give you some type of breathing room,” Murphy said.
Ashley Stewart is the executive director of the Atlanta nonprofit Freerent.org. It was launched a few years back to provide rental relief to hundreds of local residents, many of them single working moms like Murphy.
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“Over a third of Atlantans are spending half of their income on rent, and that’s without the current challenges,” Stewart said.
Covering that big monthly bill has turned out to be even more important, because some of their clients are also receiving SNAP benefits, now suspended by the federal shutdown.
“What are they supposed to do when they’re already doing everything right?” Stewart said.
It happened to Murphy.
“I understand the struggle and panic people are in, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen next,” Murphy said.
But she is still making ends meet thanks to the free rent and her car radio.
“I just happened to turn the radio on, and it was like, ‘Amazing. This can’t be real.’ But it was,’” Murphy said.
The nonprofit is now taking applications for assistance for next year.
They raised nearly $500,000 to help at least 100 renters, but have already received 1,000 applications.
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