Previous

Evicted by Matthew Desmond begins with the 2008 eviction of a family in Milwaukee. The author states that evictions used to be rare but are now quite commonplace in the United States. The book will follow eight families of different ethnicities as they endure the eviction process. Chapter 1 follows a landlord, Sherrena Tarver, as she drives around to collect rent. (All names have been changed.) She has become quite successful as a landlord, having learned all the maneuvers that will generate money, save her money, or deal with difficult tenants. Her husband, Quentin, works with her and often does repairs. While landlords are not allowed to retaliate against tenants who report them to the Department of Neighborhood Services, the landlords can evict anyone if they are behind on rent. 

Chapter 2 introduces Lamar, a double amputee with two sons. The neighborhood boys congregate at his apartment to play cards. Lamar tries to put work into the rental unit to offset his rent, but Sherrena usually ignores it. Chapter 3 introduces the College Mobile Home Park, owned by Tobin and run by Lenny and “Office Susie.” It is regarded as one of the worst trailer parks in the city, and Tobin is forced to go before a License Committee in order to keep the park. In Chapter 4, Tobin proposes a series of improvements to the park. He evicts a couple, Ned and Pam, and their five children. They all move into a trailer with Scott and Teddy while looking for a new place, but Tobin then evicts Scott and Teddy as well. 

Chapter 5 returns to one of Sherrena’s properties. Arleen lives there with two of her sons but has 4 more children who live elsewhere. Arleen has difficulty paying rent and affording food and clothes for her family. When Trisha, a young woman who receives federal disability assistance money, moves in above Arleen, the women become friends. Chapter 6 introduces the Hinkston family. After being evicted from an upstairs unit, Patrice and her children move into the lower unit of the property with her mother Doreen and Patrice’s siblings. There are 8 people living in a small dwelling that has severe plumbing issues. 

Chapter 7 follows Scott and Teddy. Scott was a nurse, but after diverting medication for his opiate addiction, he lost his license and ended up in the trailer park. Teddy moves to Tennessee, while Scott tries to find somewhere local to live. An account of Tobin’s visit to a training program for landlords describes the Consolidated Court Automation Programs, which allows landlords to check for civil and criminal actions against potential renters. Chapter 8 returns to Arleen. When she meets Sherrena in evictions court in late December, Arleen tries to negotiate to stay until the first of the year. Sherrena is unwilling.  

Chapter 9 introduces Larraine, who also lives at the College Mobile Home Park. She is evicted, and her belongings are collected by the Eagle Moving and Storage company. Larraine contacts some of her family and her pastor, but no one can help her financially. In Chapter 10, Lamar tries to get rent credit for painting the empty unit above his, but Sherrena thinks he did a bad job. In Chapter 11, Sherrena and Quentin return from a vacation in Jamaica and find out that Doreen is still having plumbing issues at her unit. Since she is behind on rent and has too many people in the unit, Sherrena refuses to help. Chapter 12 returns to Arleen, who has one day left before she has to be out. Sherrena brings Crystal, a prospective new tenant, to the property. Crystal tells Arleen that she and her kids can stay with her in the apartment until they find a new place. Crystal and Arleen have a tense relationship, but both are desperate.  

Chapter 13 returns to the trailer park, where Larraine has moved into her brother’s trailer while he was in the hospital. When a new management company fires Tobin’s staff, many of the tenants are concerned about future changes. Chapter 14 focuses on Scott, who does not fight his eviction. He seeks out a friend who is sober and tries to get sober himself, but is unable to check into rehab, so he ends up going on a drug and alcohol binge.  

Chapter 15 returns to Arleen and Crystal on the North Side. As one of the other tenants is being assaulted by her boyfriend, Crystal calls 911. Crystal and Arleen are both evicted for making a “nuisance call” to the police. In Chapter 16, Quentin and Sherrena go to a local casino, but they have to leave early when they hear that one of their properties is on fire. The fire is in the apartment of a new tenant named Kamala. Her baby dies in the fire but everyone else escapes. Sherrena finds that the fire saves her the trouble of having to evict Lamar, whose apartment was in the same building. In Chapter 17, Arleen tries to find a new place to live but has difficulty, since she has limited income and many properties refuse renters with children. She and Crystal get in a heated argument. 

In Chapter 18, Larraine gets her food stamps reinstated and spends all of them on lobster tails, shrimp, and crab legs. Desmond describes the grinding-poverty mindset, where people don’t save their money. Instead, they buy things that make them happy, believing that they will always be poor. Larraine’s brother Beaker moves into an assisted-living facility, so Larraine is forced to move again. Chapter 19 returns to Ned and Pam, now living in a cheap motel. Some of their children are with friends. They face the same challenges as Arleen: no one wants to rent to poor people with kids. Eventually, Ned secures a place after lying about the number of people who will live there. Pam thinks about leaving him. Arleen has applied to many apartments, but is still unsuccessful. She is living at the homeless shelter with her sons.  

In Chapter 20, Crystal has returned to a homeless shelter and meets Vanetta, a single mother who is awaiting trial for armed robbery. Vanetta and Crystal become friends and decide to find a place together. After Crystal gets into an argument with someone at the shelter, she is asked to leave. In Chapter 21, Doreen’s daughter Natasha has a baby, but once she leaves the hospital, she has to return to Doreen’s disgusting apartment. Chapter 22 returns to Vanetta and Crystal. Crystal has been sleeping at the train station and has become a prostitute. Vanetta has her trial and is sentenced to eighty-four months in the prison system.  

In Chapter 23, Scott relapses from his sobriety for several months, but then borrows money from his mother to get methadone. The methadone works and he gets clean. The shelter where he is staying offers him a job and affordable housing. Scott’s life appears to be back on track after years of addiction and homelessness. In Chapter 24, Arleen eventually finds a small apartment after being evicted from several others. 

The Epilogue summarizes the effects of eviction and homelessness on families. Desmond offers potential solutions for housing impoverished people in America. In the “About this Project” section, Desmond describes his methods and how he lived among the various people in the book. He lived in the trailer park on the South Side and in a rooming house on the North Side. He also describes studies that were used to analyze urban poverty and evictions.

Previous section Part 3: Chapters 21–24 & Epilogue

Take a Study Break