Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/author/jacobryan/page/3/)
Jacob Ryan joined the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting in December 2017. For three years prior, he worked as a WFPL News reporter. Ryan is originally from Eddyville, Kentucky.
The COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the quandary of life in public housing: staying home means dealing with a crowded, antiquated high rise, plagued with maintenance issues and infestations.
When the first of the month came, Katrice Gill couldn’t make rent. The part-time, in-home health aide and single mother usually has no trouble paying the $200 monthly contribution to her Section 8 subsidized rent, plus utilities. But with schools closed, she’s home with her four young kids, and the grocery bill has ballooned.
Gill, 32, said she tried to call her landlord, but didn’t get a call back. Then, on April 7, the landlord sent an email with the subject line in all caps: PAST DUE NOTICE.
With the message came an added charge: she was assessed a late fee of $91, nearly 45 percent of what she usually pays in rent. “I’m just really stressed out,” she said.
City officials said fulfilling the request for about three weeks of spending records would create an “unreasonable burden” on the government agency.
Fifty people who live or work at the nursing home were tested. By Friday evening, a dozen test results had been returned — with a quarter of them positive.
Lyon County Judge Executive Wade White said state officials were initially reluctant to provide tests to check fellow residents and workers
It’s the first new month since the coronavirus swept into Kentucky, and for thousands of families, that means the rent is due. Many, though, may struggle to pay that bill this month. The spreading COVID-19 pandemic has led to the shuttering of scores of business, sparking layoffs and furloughs. Renters make up about 33 percent of Kentucky’s 1.7 million households, according to data from the Metropolitan Housing Coalition. The rate is slightly higher in Jefferson County, where renters account for about 38 percent of households.
The cuts reflect a 28 percent reduction in the state’s county jail population.
As the COVID-19 disease continues to spread, Louisville Metro officials are receiving a deluge of complaints from residents about businesses not heeding calls to shut down or scale back services. Since Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency earlier this month, 114 complaints related to the coronavirus have been reported to city health officials as of noon Monday, according to online records.
The complaints range from restaurants defying the governor’s order to close, factories and warehouses neglecting to provide safe conditions for workers, and other services falling short on social distancing. Nearly 70 of the complaints came in Monday morning — a day after Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer encouraged residents to report businesses that fail to take necessary precautions to avoid spreading the contagious virus.
Many of the complaints mirror national worries about the spreading pandemic: supply shortages for health workers, the lack of personal space in daily life. One complainant alleged staff at a local hospital were not being allowed to work from home, despite being told they are non-essential. Several people complained of cramped bus rides or packed factory floors.
Each week, about 400 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held across the Louisville Metro area. Many of these meetings take place in houses of worship, and now dozens of meetings are being cancelled due to concerns about the spreading of COVID-19. This can put people struggling with addiction in a tough spot, especially people just starting their journey to recovery, said Sally S., the chair of the Greater Louisville Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sally is a recovering alcoholic of 28 years and in a 12-step program. “It’s scary,” she said.
There are more than 60 eviction orders scheduled in Louisville for this week.