Press Coverage
Selected citations and quotes from news coverage of my research.
The New Republic
"Even if they're technically exempt, they could lose their rental assistance anyway, for all the additional red tape that it would require to verify compliance and exemptions," said Gartland. "It's quite possible, especially for people with lower incomes, that it's difficult to get all that paperwork to prove that exemption."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"That gap between the supply of voucher-affordable units and the amount of families actually using their vouchers in lower-poverty areas suggests that there are other factors at play that are preventing people from using their vouchers in lower-poverty areas," Gartland said.
Stateline
"There is a high share of these households using [other] federal rental assistance in higher-poverty areas," Gartland explained, noting that programs such as the Housing Choice Vouchers are a rare but essential tool for expanding housing mobility. "If you're cutting the programming by 40%, you're just putting additional strain on that program and just limiting that potential."
CNN Business
"Despite some popular notions of housing hardship, like expecting more impact in coastal areas where housing costs are highest, hardship was concentrated in southern states," said Erik Gartland, a research analyst on the housing team at CBPP. "This overlay of race and hardship reflects systemic racism and pre-pandemic disparities in housing that has grown as we have seen a disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Black and Latino workers."
Yahoo Finance
"Wait times for families that receive housing vouchers average nearly two and a half years, and many eligible families never rise to the top of the list," said the report authored by research associate, Erik Gartland.
The Cap Times
As unemployment rises, dropping incomes will increase the number of renters struggling to find affordable housing. For Wisconsinites living paycheck to paycheck, losing a job means missed rent payments and possible eviction. Decreased renter income will only exacerbate a housing affordability crisis in Wisconsin caused by stagnant wages and rising housing costs.
Isthmus
We must recognize the urgent need to address injustice and inequities in our state, especially in light of the recent increase in ICE activity and Wisconsin's staggering racial disparities in educational outcomes and incarceration rates. That starts with sending a message to elected officials that their current efforts are not enough.