When the New York City Housing Authority revoked 10,000 Section 8 vouchers already allocated for low-income tenants due to a federal budget shortfall, those who lost rental assistance had their lives thrown into chaos. Cutting Deep is an examination of housing instability through the lens of two women who were separately impacted.
Roberta Smith lived in Staten Island with her five children. After NYCHA withheld a subsidy payment from her landlord for failure to make repairs, he falsely informed the program that she was no longer living in the apartment, and her voucher was terminated. With another child on the way, Smith struggled to fight eviction and regain her voucher in time.
April Respress lived in Brooklyn with her boyfriend Calvin. During the budget crisis, the home she was renting was foreclosed on: the gas and water was shut off, and sewage seeped from below her house into the hallway. Respress applied for a transfer through the Section 8 program on the grounds that the apartment was uninhabitable in light of her HIV positive condition. However, she was continuously denied a transfer and was forced to stay with her boyfriend's mother in her crowded apartment.
When the New York City Housing Authority revoked 10,000 Section 8 vouchers already allocated for low-income tenants due to a federal budget shortfall, those who lost rental assistance had their lives thrown into chaos. Cutting Deep is an examination of housing instability through the lens of two women who were separately impacted.
Roberta Smith lived in Staten Island with her five children. After NYCHA withheld a subsidy payment from her landlord for failure to make repairs, he falsely informed the program that she was no longer living in the apartment, and her voucher was terminated. With another child on the way, Smith struggled to fight eviction and regain her voucher in time.
April Respress lived in Brooklyn with her boyfriend Calvin. During the budget crisis, the home she was renting was foreclosed on: the gas and water was shut off, and sewage seeped from below her house into the hallway. Respress applied for a transfer through the Section 8 program on the grounds that the apartment was uninhabitable in light of her HIV positive condition. However, she was continuously denied a transfer and was forced to stay with her boyfriend's mother in her crowded apartment.