I Make $20/Hour And I'm Still Homeless 

Holy s-hit, I used to make 24 an hour and was still homeless. When people say that "homelessness is not a personal failure, it's an institutional failure," this is what they mean.

Anything below $25 an hour is poverty in California. $25hr you have roommates and barely making it. It’s crazy how the world had changed

“Get a job!” Doesn’t cut it any more

If you are "working class" Jackson Hole isn't a livable city. Leave the rich to fend for themselves.

At age 54 I got layed off. Plant closed. I was a highly skilled employee. My hourly rate was $43.00 per hour. The same day I was let go I got a call. The president of another company offered me a job. $20.00 per hour. The plan for years was to retire at 55. He knew dam well that he was taking advantage of me. I didn't say a word. I had to stick with the plan. I spent exactly 1 year there to the day. Every dollar I made went into are retirement accounts. On my last day I didn't say a word. And walked out. I heard they tried to recruit different people from all over the country to replace me. I was very good at what I did. People from all over the country knew my work and that president knew it. I got the last laugh. After 39 years I was done.

The American dream can only be achieved two ways. Being rich or being asleep.

It's absolutely nuts that we have been conned into accepting that full time jobs shouldn't pay a living wage

Im so sorry this is happening. There is a problem with affordable housing here in Canada also. Too much greed and selfishness.

Sadly, all of America is becoming unaffordable for many working class Americans. Now, there's a big exodus of Americans moving to more affordable countries.

WE DON'T NEED NEW HOMES, we need big money/companies to not be able to buy single-family homes. Honestly, there should be regulation over this, its just disgusting

I lost my home after I couldn't afford the high homeowners' insurance rate. My job closed down after the hurricane. Yet I was blessed to have family that encouraged me and helped me for a while. Now I'm able to do the same to help other family and friends. When I've saved enough, I share food with this small group living behind the news station. I don't know why, but the more I see them, the more I worry about them.

The biggest problem is not a big enough diversification of housing units to support the mixed range of salaries. When developers insist on only building "luxury" apartments they eliminate a good majority of people. I'd love to see studio units (clean, comfortable and modern) like they build in Asia. Not everyone wants or needs big living spaces and most don't use the "luxury" amenities that cost exuberant price hikes.

Im thinking I’ll be going homeless soon enough. The government has failed many of us. Im working two jobs and have to decide whether I eat or Pay bills to stay sheltered. Something needs to change!

this is where i am currently at. Employed at $21/hr but living in an unaffordable area is horrible. I live in a car, surrounded by million dollar homes. life really sucks.

I’m only in the beginning of this video but I can tell you all that things have gotten so bad for me financially that I’ve considered taking my own life multiple times. I used to work and I had everything that I needed. It was like after covid everything went downhill the 3 yrs following. Including my health. It started with swelling in my legs and then went from one thing to another. I can’t even explain the feeling that I have sometimes. I pray for these people. Every single one of them that GOD blesses each of them and provides what they need. It’s not fun

Price gouging by apartment owners keeps working people homeless. Something needs to be done. People need a place to live!

Being homeless is no joke..may the homeless be blessed with a home soon.. 🙏

What are they going to do when there’s no one left to work anything, no shops, grocery stores, rodeo? They’d better wake up and discover who’s actually important in the town.

It shouldn’t have to be this difficult to survive, I feel for these people

Not going to lie, I am single in Florida and I live a good life. I do sometimes waste money, but there is no way at the current housing rates and my salary as a teacher (50k) I could afford to purchase a regular home that costs around 350k in my area. I’m so thankful I bought my condo about 5 years ago. To all of you trying to make it, sending prayers your way and hoping you will find programs and tools to help you make your home purchase or get to where you need to be. It’s rough out there.

Then the rich residents should be prepared to do all the low wage jobs themselves. No more maids, waiters, dishwashers, trash haulers, home health aides, nurse’s assistants, food workers, stockroom workers, deliverers, nannies, teaching assistants, launderers, lawn care and landscapers, etc. They’ll have to do it themselves or make provision for workers. And when the workers get older? Does anyone expect 60+ year olds to be working 70+ hours a week while living in a tent?

I earned my bachelors 2 years ago and I still can’t find decent pay. The highest I was offered with years of experience in the field was $24. The most ridiculous one I got was $17 pay with no benefits. It’s hard. Now I have 2 jobs and still live with my mom. Multiple times she’s urged me to move out, but she doesn’t understand how much apartments are these days. A place in OC is $2,400 a month! There is no way with me working two jobs am I even close to affording it along with my other bills. It’s utterly ridiculous

It's really sad and shocking to see how some homeowners would choose a rodeo arena over an affordable housing project to house the homeless struggling to make ends meet so they could afford a home and a decent living. It's like they lost their empathy for fellow humans. Shame for the NIMBYISM movement. More power to Ms. Jessica Sell Chambers and others who champion affordable housing. We need more people like her with the actual sympathy for the homeless and the disadvantaged.

This is literally my life. I’m working full time, two jobs on half the days. Living in my car because I don’t make enough to afford a place to live in my own hometown. Wtf are people supposed to do?

This is horrible. I live in Dallas. Just 7 years ago you could find an affordable place to live in Dallas. 7 years later Dallas has turned into NYC and San Francisco. Rent prices have doubled and tripped in just 7 years. It’s shameful.

This is why I'm hoping to move out of the US soon. I've had enough. Not just of the fact that hard work doesn't mean anything but just everything. The divisiveness, the consumerism, the constant stress and anger and depression and anxiety. It's too much.

Thank you for your honesty and very empathetic report. It's refreshing to see this issue addressed without bias, blame or judgement. Bless you friend 🙏🕊️😊

Dont go above what you can affordand the most important thing stay away off credit cards and loans.

I'm a single 60 yr old lady. I make 17.00 hrly, no insurance, work 47 hrs wkly n get paid for 35. Several times I'm forced to work 12 hr days n get paid 7.5 hrs. Paycheck is never the same day Worked hard all my life and I'm one paycheck away from the street. Sometimes I just want to give up.

This is where we’re at in America. Companies treat employees like absolute trash

It is not an issue of affordability, but an issue of insufficient wages. We need to be working to get a living wage. The money is out there; they just don't want to share it with us.

In school we are all taught we will need a place to live. I graduated high school in 1980. The first thing I did with my earnings from my summer time jobs was buy a used mobile home for $1,250. Then I purchased an ace land in the country for $2,500. The septic tank cost me $1,600 and water meter was $300. A total of around $6,000 That was 42 years ago. I still live in the same place, rent free till this day . I have always made any necessary repairs myself and my trailer is still in great shape and everything works as intended. That averages out to be $142 a year and less than $12 a month this far for a place to live and own. No one telling me what I can and cannot do. I didn't have to worry about being evicted when COVID-19 hit, or a dreaded knock on your door from the owner. Why people RENT never made sense to me when you can OWN.

When i was a kid in NYC, a dad who was a postal mail carrier or city bus driver could support a family and own a home in a borough. Moms raised the big families everyone had back then.

This happened to me in Austin, Texas. Working while homeless, having hundreds of dollars yet not enough to keep you housed. I currently live in Minnesota making $40,000 a year and rent is reasonable. However it gets freaking cold here.

I make 32 in Phoenix and will never be able to afford a house.

I am a social worker and work in homeless services in Los Angeles. This video is a perfect example of the main cause behind the homelessness crisis we're experiencing.

At some point, our government needs to be held accountable.

Just a note, many cities have ordinances exclusively targeted to disempower less fortunate people. In my case, I couldn't afford housing anymore, so I was able to find a nice RV for cheap. I didn't know how aggressive NIMBY (not in my back yard) is. It essentially weaponizes the police to ensure city code is enforced. I found out it was illegal to have an RV, even in your own driveway should you own your own home! We as a country need to get back to basics and learn to value empathy, human connection, and community. So say us all!

It's even worse on disability income! I get $1100 a month, and my rent is $700 a month. So, I live on $400 a month, and by the end of the month there's less than nothing. I live in one of the most expensive states in the U.S. When people say, "Pack up and move to a cheaper state" I'm like, with what money? I don't have savings! I heard Alabama is one of the cheapest states in the country, but that's thousands of miles away. Even if I left 99% of my possessions behind and took a bus it would still be expensive! And with what money am I gonna pay this cheaper rent in Alabama, when they're gonna decrease my disability income based on living in a cheaper state? The system is designed for us to stay poor.

Yup, have an accounting degree and got straight A's. Got out and couldn't find anything in accounting. Started part time at Home Depot for $11/hr. Worked my way up to lumber and hardware department supervisor for $19/hr. Eventually was promised a promotion to asst manager but was lied to and left the company. Throughout all this I lived with parents because I can't afford a home or rent even.

This is why if I ever leave Ohio it will be 2 leave the country. I make 34.74 an hour. I'm a diesel mechanic many made fun of me 4 choosing that field as a woman 🤷🏾‍♀️ it's worked out thus far

I had a customer of mine who admitted the saying around town is the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires. The amount of money in this place is obsurd. It's 100% a Tax haven. I spent a few days here working a few years back. I tell people about this to this day. This town is beyond dealing with homeless and middle class Americans. They are literally pricing out the millionaires just the thought of this is insane.

Where I'm at in North Carolina most common jobs start you at around $15/hour. My rent has been increased by extra 50% in just the past two years. I never lived anywhere where my rent was increased by more than 5-10% a year before, but the shortage in housing and cost/stress of relocating made me stay. At some point last year I was working two jobs at that rate and got burned out. Almost every person I met at those jobs was working 2 jobs unless they were married and had support from their partner

Bravo Upload.. All da Best Folks..

I noticed that two things seem to be driving the housing problem in a lot of towns. First, you have quiant small towns that become holiday spots for the rich, and they gobble up all the houses. Then the people with the low-paid jobs (or the municipal employees) can't afford a place. Then you have the stupid building codes. My father wanted to buy an old wreck next door, and build a large three-storey home, with an apartment that could be rented out, but the town said no. They didn't want houses with apartments. It would make the block look low-class. The result? A huge house was built next door, nobody could afford the price, it sat empty for years, until the town had to seize it for taxes and auction it off.

All across the USA this is happening. Wealthy folks and real estate corporations are buying up low cost housing and raising prices on the working poor. Co-ops and housing unions are necessary these days just to survive and not be working homeless.

I was in Jackson during COVID working and they have the nicest people in the community and working with their health department....it is just crazy knowing the people who work there are taking long drives up and down the mountains rain or snow to get to work since they couldn't afford rent in Jackson hole.... The rich has bought them out!

This is a real eye opener. Never expected to see this in Jackson, Wyoming.

Sick part of this is that nearly all those mansions are empty most of the year. The rich only use them a couple months a year, if ever.

I blame our worthless and gutless politicians looking out for themselves

It’s crazy how residents were opposing affordable housing!!

I lived and worked there from 2004 to 2008. I did employee housing, renting, living my van, camping. It was a problem back then. So beautiful there, but the rich people really spoil it.

It's the same here in Florida too. Anything less than $25/hr you just can't afford rent anywhere. Yet the minimum wage in this state is still set at $11/hr. Wages/cost of rent are a joke anymore. I'm ready for people to start rioting in the streets.

May father, rip, used to say: There’s no shortage of resources, just injustice in distribution.

Greedy greedy corporations. Smh.

I realize this is a year old report, so a belated thank you for it's indepth and eye-opening information gathering by your staff. It reveals how government at all levels has failed the working class, the "blue collar" workers of this country. And, it's both sad and infuriating that legislators just don't care.

Our government will never be accountable!They couldn’t care less about us.

It's like this everywhere! I live in Kentucky and the amount they are charging for rent is outrageous! I have no idea how people on a fixed income afford to live 🤯

Im praying for all of is in jesus name,Amen

All that Hope and Change is really making America Great Again.

So where do they expect their restaurant workers, garbage men, lower medical staff, housekeepers, grocery staff, on and on and on to live?

It’s a friggin shame that the politicians running these cities and towns are letting these hardships hit good honest hardworking Americans. The GREED in America is awfully sickening!

I’ve been struggling in the US my whole life with being unaccepted. It wouldn’t surprise me if I end up in one of these shelters. There is no hope.✨✨✨

Prices are going up up up with every year that passes here in the US & it makes me wonder if there is Anywhere I can go that ISN'T constantly raising prices.

The problem is not that people are not working or not making enough money working full time,the problem is that local state politicians, allowing real estate developers to get away with renovating older buildings, converting them into Condominiums, building new luxury apartment, and big houses leaving out the working class not to be able to afford ridiculous high rets and mortgages. Thev only folks that can are the wealthy. I remember back when working regular folks, could live in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the 70s 80s and 90s, folks with regular incomes still have money to save and cover life basic necessaries, without worrying every day we're going to have enough to cover rent.

It's one thing for NIMBYs to disagree with affordable housing projects, but why do they have to crazily foam at the mouth while doing so? Very disturbing.

I love vacationing in Jackson Hole! ❤️

All over Florida too. This is happening all over the US. I appreciate the video, thanks for giving a voice to so many who feel they are being left behind. Unless there are Federal, State, and local laws to stop large investors from owning everything this will continue until the day we see little blond haired-blue eyed children starving in the streets-then maybe French Revolution 2.0 will kick off. Wealthy people need to care more about this, their heads are in the crosshairs too if this does not get resolved, because people with nothing left to lose will go tribal and if individual wealthy people cannot protect themselves they will end up in the same type of tribal groups-wealth diminished.

Phoenix was unofficially "The most affordable city in the west" in the 2000's. I believe they may have been forced to relinquish that distinction in the 2020's. EXAMPLE: When I moved there in 2010, a 3 year old 1 bedroom 1 bath 810 Sq. Ft .luxury apartment with a balcony in an upscale suburb of Phoenix rented for $785.00 per month. As of the date of this comment, that now 16 year apartment floorplan rents for "Starting at $1529.00 per month.

Bro I make $25 an hour and we pay $1850 for a small two bedroom apartment in Boston built in 1900. 😅 I am BARELY paying bills. Save money? Forget about it. Times are tough indeed.

I see a lot of these videos about Jackson Hole or San Francisco etc. but ya'll need to also start making videos about this same problem is happening even in small towns all over the country. The whole thing is off the rails and main cause is draconian "zoning" and other layer upon layer of syndicates artificially driving up housing costs into the Stratosphere.

To put it in perspective the median home price in my area of san diego ca is 800k with an 8.2% apr interest rate on a 30year mortage with all taxes fees etc will cost around $7500/a month and in order to qualify with the proper debt to income ratio you will either need to make 150k a year combined or on your own its insane 🤯

Great video. This situation is why I live out my van. Either you live in an area where the minimum is $15.50 (like here in CA) and rent is $815 a month (for just a room in a house) or you live somewhere where rent is less, but the minimum wage is $7.50. Why is the Federal minimum wage still $7.50 in 2023? We really need to look hard at that

I travel for a living, trucker, oil field hand, pilot/escort. I stay at a lot of truck stops and the like. In the last few years I've seen more and more 40-70 hour a week people living in their vehicles and using the amenities to prepare for their work day. I've personally been living this way for a very long time because I cannot afford to pay for a home I never see.

i live in nyc and every job position pays 15-17/h ... starbucks, target, walgreens you name it. and its a hard job working there. Poverty is insane , even people in 3rd world countries can afford housing when working full time but not in usa

Would like to see a follow up

There is no housing shortage. The problem is hedge funds being allowed to buy all the housing they want and charge a fortune for rent

A perfect storm is brewing in the United States. Inflation, bank collapse, severe drought in the agricultural belt, recession, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating oil shortages, baby formula shortages, available automobile shortages and prices, the price of living place. It's all coming together and it could lead to a real disaster towards the end of this year (or sooner). With inflation currently at about 6%, my primary concern is how to maximize my savings/retirement fund of about $300k which has been sitting duck since forever with zero to no gains.

This is happening all over Colorado. I’ve been offered jobs in ski towns and had to turn them down because l couldn’t find a place to live. For one job l commuted 2 hours each way via an employee shuttle. During COVID they got rid of the shuttle and l was sleeping on the side of the road. They never reinstated the shuttle so l had to quit.

You should do a follow-up on this.

This video just motive me to find remote work and I will pack my bags and move to Ecuador. Cost of living in America is unbearable.

This is happening everywhere. You can't create these bastions of wealth while expecting to have low income workers waiting on you. If you're not willing to pay restaurant workers and laborers and other service workers enough to have a decent existence, then you can do everything yourself.

Revolution!!!!

There's no escaping this, this is everywhere.

It’s interesting how society quickly judges and assumes that homelessness is equal to lazy people who do not work or contribute anything to society but that is far from the truth. I live in Hawaii where wages are lower but the cost of living is too high. We have a lot of homeless people and many are actually classified as the working homeless. The remaining who are not homeless still live with their parents way passed their 30s even though they already have children of their own. I studied finance and one of the down sides of capitalism is inequality. Inequality can work to encourage people to work smarter but when it reaches to levels where even buying the essential goods and services to survive is unattainable then it’s a huge problem. There are many well off people who don’t work at all, I can speak for my parents who are landlords and just collect rent on property they inherited so they don’t have jobs to collect a pay check since the money they make is sufficient so we can’t use the excuse that the rich worked hard.

My mom always complains that I live with her… talking about when I was your age I was out of the house… Well, rent was $400 back then. Those same APts are now 1900 for a one bedroom.

Thanks, real estate investors

20 dollars a hour is not a livable wage in Wyoming

This was me in the Bay Area Ca. I was making $20 an hr living out of my car. I couldn’t even afford a room. I ended up moving to the south.

Very sad for ppl who is willingly to work hard but nothing will ever help

i use to build houses about 25 years ago and was homeless sleeping in the houses as they where been made ,the cold was the worce part not much sleep when you on a floor and having to work all day eating takeaway food at night ,life is good now and just glad i never gave up

We need to put up a lot more tents

Same thing where I live -Durango Colorado . I make 20 hour spraying for bugs at millionaire and even a few billionaires houses/ ranches. It's pretty depressing walking into these places and realizing their art alone is worth more than I'll make in a lifetime

Disappointed but not surprised. Politicians and businesses need to figure it because this is ridiculous. People working full time jobs should not struggle with housing.

If you're on SS or SSI then you're screwed, one monthly payment doesn't even cover a rented room!!!

US Debt clock says $32Tillion dollars have been spent by our leaders and homeless get $0. When Europe comes to our country the first thing they says is "You know your government is screwing you all over. My friend is 73 and lives in his car he worked for over 50 years sometimes 7 days a week. Rent 30 years ago was $180 with everything included on the beach in Florida and rent is now $2k to $7k here.

This is also happening in Martha's Vineyard. I visited with my friends who have lived and worked on the island for generations but because the rich people are moving in and messing with the prices of housing, 3 of my friends live together in a 2 bedroom duplex and another is renting out a barn to live in with no heat or running water for $800 a month. They all work but don't want to leave because that is their home. Eventually I do think they will be forced to leave and then there will be no workers.

This is also what its like living/working in California. Its sickening that even $20 an hour can't get you a tiny no nothing shack. Something has to give.

This is happening in Australia as well There are no rentals available

Teton County in Wyoming is the most expensive place to live. Zoning laws are strict there and most workers who work in Jackson don't live in Jackson because of cost. Other areas in Wyoming are much more affordable and housing costs are lower outside Teton county. I use to live in laramie, wy and now I'm in cheyenne.