Kara’s water heater broke, and her landlord took no action to fix the water heater despite her repeated calls. After a month without hot water, she withheld rent. He responded with an eviction notice. In court, the judge ruled in the landlord’s favor, as Georgia law did not permit tenants to withhold rent for repairs.

Kara drove to Florida with her four children after reconnecting with Grace’s father, Darius, who offered them a place. She discovered that he lived in a single room, and that night, his pregnant girlfriend, Tamara, confronted them. The two women fought, and Tamara stabbed Kara with a fork. After receiving emergency treatment, Kara drove 10 hours back to Atlanta.

She rented a room at the United Inn for $380 a week, but her expenses exceeded her income. She searched for family shelters, but all were full or inaccessible. After her money ran out, Kara and her children spent the night sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot. She feared that discovery could lead to child services taking her children. On their third night in the car, a gas station attendant offered to watch over them while they slept.

At four o’clock in the morning, Celeste was violently ill from chemotherapy side effects at Efficiency Lodge. For months, emergency room doctors had dismissed her until a blood test revealed severe anemia, leading to a diagnosis of ovarian and breast cancer. Three weeks into chemo, she watched her children sleep: Nyah (whose boyfriend Keyondre had recently been arrested for murder), Jalen, and Micah.

The diagnosis derailed her plan to save money and leave the hotel. She had grown disillusioned with the manager, Lisa, observing her methamphetamine habit and exploitation of residents. Before a health inspection, Lisa hired Celeste to paint over the mold rather than fixing it. Celeste realized that she was caught in the hotel trap—a predatory model preventing desperate families from saving enough to leave.

At the Gateway Center, Atlanta’s main unhoused services hub, a caseworker administered the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) assessment (part of the government-mandated Coordinated Entry System) and told Celeste her score was too low for housing assistance. The primary issue was that because Celeste lived in a hotel, she did not meet HUD’s definition of “literally homeless.” When she asked about shelters, the caseworker said no family shelter would accept her 15-year-old son. Unwilling to separate her family, Celeste left with no assistance.

Maurice discovered that the refrigerator was broken while Natalia was on maternity leave with their newborn, Matthew. When Natalia contacted their landlord, Summer, she learned that Summer was selling the condo, and they had 60 days to move.

Natalia was shocked by how expensive rentals had become in Sandy Springs. Most properties charged high, nonrefundable fees. They applied for several apartments but were repeatedly rejected due to low credit scores. A cosigning company, Liberty Rent, approved them but charged a nonrefundable fee of one month’s rent and limited their choice to two expensive luxury complexes. They considered cheaper neighborhoods but rejected the idea due to poor school quality for their son Anthony, who had autism.

They moved into a two-bedroom at The Whitney for $1,450 monthly—$500 more than before. The combined costs wiped out their savings. Maurice discovered dead cockroaches in a kitchen cabinet but kept this to himself.

Michelle learned that Jacob had been fired from his maintenance job. As a result, they were two months behind on rent and had received eviction notices. She found cocaine residue in his pocket.

Desperate for money, Michelle convinced Jacob to appear on Divorce Court, acting out a fabricated story for $1,100. Jacob announced that he was leaving the family and moved in with another woman. DJ felt betrayed.

The family settled into a routine at the dangerous A2B Budget Hotel, where Michelle worked at the front desk. DJ began dating a girl named Tyneria and was relieved when she was understanding about his living in a hotel. About a week before Thanksgiving, Michelle argued with her boss and believed she had been fired.

Three months after her voucher had expired, Britt attended Thanksgiving dinner at Granny’s, hiding her despair. She and the kids had moved from her Aunt Trisha’s to her sister Aaliyah’s crowded apartment.

An old family friend, Yateshia Evans, called about an available unit at Gladstone Apartments. Yateshia’s childhood friend Cindy ran the rental office and had been helping people from their old neighborhood. Britt was hesitant, remembering Chosewood Park as rundown, but drove there and was shocked by how much it had gentrified. Property values had risen 348%, driven by the BeltLine development. Cindy offered a one-bedroom for $550 a month.

Britt immediately accepted. A few days later, she learned that Tyler Perry had paid off all layaway balances at Walmart, covering her Christmas gifts. After the new year, she moved into the small apartment, putting her children’s mattresses in the living room. Though it was not a dream home, she felt lucky to have a home again.

Natalia experienced a severe panic attack at work, struggling with anxiety over her family’s precarious finances and roach-infested apartment. Diagnosing her with severe postpartum depression, her doctor recommended short-term disability leave. The family’s income plummeted due to an unpaid waiting period and reduced disability pay.

Unable to pay the full rent, they received an eviction notice. The Whitney was owned by Covenant Capital Group, a private equity firm known for aggressive eviction practices. Natalia secured one-time rental assistance from a nonprofit, and the eviction was dismissed. However, their dire financial situation continued spiraling, and their utilities and phones were disconnected. Maurice worked extra hours delivering for Uber Eats.

In January, a deputy arrived to carry out an eviction. They learned that the prior court order allowed immediate eviction if they were late again, which they were by a few days. They moved their belongings to storage and checked into an Extended Stay America with their three children, telling the older kids that a water pipe had burst.

In January, DJ woke cold and hungry in a storage room at the A2B Budget Hotel, where the family had been secretly sleeping for four nights. Since losing her job in November, Michelle had been unable to find work due to a lack of childcare. She survived by pawning and selling items, selling plasma, and panhandling with Skye outside stores.

At a cemetery, a woman connected Michelle with Phillis, who ran a church outreach program for the unhoused. Phillis used church funds to pay for two weeks at Efficiency Lodge. DJ immediately hated the conditions.

Michelle’s attempts to follow up on her CAPS subsidy application for childcare proved futile. She got an interview at SoulShine, a high-end daycare, but learned that employees had to work a full year before their children could enroll. She never called back.

On March 12, 2020, Kara received an email that schools were closing due to COVID-19. She panicked, knowing her daycare would also close. At Efficiency Lodge, Celeste was laid off. Natalia learned that she could not work remotely from their cramped hotel room and filed for unemployment. Maurice continued working at Enterprise, fearing that he would bring the virus home.

At Efficiency, most residents lost their jobs. Celeste started an informal daycare in her room. Kara began working for DoorDash with her four children in the car, earning less than minimum wage after expenses. When Efficiency residents fell behind on rent, Lisa slid eviction notices under their doors.

Natalia and Maurice’s $550-per-week hotel rent decimated the couple’s finances. The online application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly food stamps) prompted Natalia to declare whether she was unhoused. After a moment of reflection, she selected yes.