“I Have Nowhere to Go”: An Examination of Post-Eviction Housing Outcomes of Evicted Tenants
Given the extent of the eviction crisis in Oregon, it is crucial to investigate what happens to tenants after they are displaced from their homes. This report investigates three main questions concerning tenants’ post-eviction housing outcomes: Where do tenants live after they have been evicted? How do post-eviction housing outcomes affect tenants’ health, finances, and safety? How do rental assistance and legal assistance affect post-eviction housing outcomes? To answer these research questions, we draw on data from focus groups with 121 Oregon tenants who had an eviction case filed against them, received an eviction notice, or were told to leave by their landlord.
Fight, Flight, Freeze 2: An Update on Tenants’ Responses to Eviction Across Urban and Rural Oregon
In the original "Fight, Flight, Freeze" (FFF) report, the Evicted in Oregon researchers reported on the experiences of tenants who faced eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic and their access to resources. The current memo provides an updated analysis, now including 121 tenants with eviction experiences in Oregon. The analysis includes13 new focus groups with tenants in both rural and urban Oregon, focusing on the type of support they received while navigating eviction. These groups represent tenants from diverse backgrounds. Additional details on the years and locations of the focus groups are available in the Methods section of the Appendix.
Using the fight-flight-freeze framework, we examined tenants' reactions to eviction. We also report the resources they accessed after being threatened with eviction and describe the broader effects of eviction, including impacts on health and family stability.
Our findings highlight three outcomes and impacts tenants experience when navigating the threat of eviction:
Tenants who received formal support were able to remain housed after facing the threat of eviction.
Tenants mainly relied on friends and family for temporary housing.
Tenants encounter housing, health, and financial hardships during and after eviction.
"Where Will My Family Go?" The Financial, Housing, and Health Challenges of Families Facing Eviction
To better understand how eviction affects families with children, the Evicted in Oregon team conducted focus groups with 74 tenants from Baker, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, and Washington counties in Oregon. During focus group discussions, we asked participants whether they had children in the household at the time of eviction and how it impacted them. Parents’ reported that their children’s well-being was their main concern during the eviction process. They also described how eviction led to disruptions in their children’s education, health and medical treatments, and living arrangements.
Based on our findings, we provide a set of policy and program recommendations that could prevent eviction and support families facing eviction, including long-term rental assistance, expanding access to and awareness of existing resources, and tenant advocacy. Secure and stable housing environment is essential for healthy children's development; therefore, state and local agencies should continue to invest in programs that help people remain in their homes.
Targeted, Harassed, and Displaced: The Role of Discrimination in Oregon Evictions
While we know that there are clear racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in eviction filings, there is still much we do not know about discrimination in the eviction process. One concrete way to shed light on this understudied phenomenon is by talking directly with evicted tenants about their experiences as members of Fair Housing-protected identity groups and other marginalized populations. Drawing on focus groups with 101 Oregon tenants who have experienced an eviction since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report examines the role that discrimination plays in Oregon evictions. We find that many tenants are specifically targeted for eviction or experience prejudicial treatment during the eviction process because of their identity or background. This includes being treated unfairly based on their race, language, criminal record, gender, sexual orientation, or disabilities. Tenants faced harassment, threats, utility shut-offs, unaddressed habitability issues, and other forms of prejudicial treatment. Additionally, some tenants reported that they either did not challenge their eviction or did not report the discrimination they encountered because they did not expect to be treated fairly by the legal system.
Fight, Flight, Freeze: How Access to Support Shapes Tenant Responses to Eviction in Multnomah County
While we know that there are clear racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in eviction filings, there is still much we do not know about discrimination in the eviction process. One concrete way to shed light on this understudied phenomenon is by talking directly with evicted tenants about their experiences as members of Fair Housing-protected identity groups and other marginalized populations. Drawing on focus groups with 101 Oregon tenants who have experienced an eviction since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report examines the role that discrimination plays in Oregon evictions. We find that many tenants are specifically targeted for eviction or experience prejudicial treatment during the eviction process because of their identity or background. This includes being treated unfairly based on their race, language, criminal record, gender, sexual orientation, or disabilities. Tenants faced harassment, threats, utility shut-offs, unaddressed habitability issues, and other forms of prejudicial treatment. Additionally, some tenants reported that they either did not challenge their eviction or did not report the discrimination they encountered because they did not expect to be treated fairly by the legal system.
Unjust and Unsafe: The Eviction Experiences of Latine Immigrant and Farmworker Tenants in Oregon
While we know that there are clear racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in eviction filings, there is still much we do not know about discrimination in the eviction process. One concrete way to shed light on this understudied phenomenon is by talking directly with evicted tenants about their experiences as members of Fair Housing-protected identity groups and other marginalized populations. Drawing on focus groups with 101 Oregon tenants who have experienced an eviction since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report examines the role that discrimination plays in Oregon evictions. We find that many tenants are specifically targeted for eviction or experience prejudicial treatment during the eviction process because of their identity or background. This includes being treated unfairly based on their race, language, criminal record, gender, sexual orientation, or disabilities. Tenants faced harassment, threats, utility shut-offs, unaddressed habitability issues, and other forms of prejudicial treatment. Additionally, some tenants reported that they either did not challenge their eviction or did not report the discrimination they encountered because they did not expect to be treated fairly by the legal system.