VOA慢速英语2020 美国上千万租客面临被驱逐风险（在线收听）

Millions of US Renters Face Eviction

Tiana Caldwell of Kansas City, Missouri is one of millions of Americans who face being moved out of their homes by the end of the year.

密苏里州堪萨斯城的蒂安娜·考德威尔(Tiana Caldwell)是数百万面临年底搬离家园的美国人之一。

This kind of forced removal is a result of the economic problems and job losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. That information comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a national housing group.

这种强制性搬迁是由于冠状病毒爆发造成的经济问题和失业造成的。这一信息来自全美低收入住房联盟，一个全国性的住房组织。

Caldwell lost her job and was in treatment for cancer when she and her family were evicted in 2019.

考德威尔失去了工作，而且还在接受癌症治疗，她和家人在2019年被驱逐。

"We were doing good, and then I got cancer...again. So, I was actively in treatment when we were being evicted...It was a bad experience."

“我们一直过的不错，然后我的癌症再次复发……所以，当我们被驱逐的时候，我还正在积极地接受治疗……这是一次糟糕的经历。”

Caldwell is now unemployed and has a hard time paying rent - money paid for the use of a property. She is organizing protests with KC Tenants, a group that supports affordable housing in Kansas City, Missouri.

考德威尔现在失业了，而且很难支付房屋租金。她正在组织与KC Tenants的抗议活动，KC Tenants是一家支持密苏里州堪萨斯城经济适用房的组织。

Facing eviction

面临被驱逐

KC Tenants Director Tara Raghuvee told VOA that nearly 50 percent of renters in the state of Missouri are at risk of eviction because they cannot pay their rent.

KC Tenants主管塔拉·拉格维（Tara Raghuvee）告诉美国之音，密苏里州近50%的租户面临被驱逐的风险，因为他们交不起房租。

"Tens of thousands of renters in the state of Missouri were paying over 50% of their income to rent before the pandemic, and now...hundreds of thousands are unemployed or have been unemployed through some period of this pandemic."

“在疫情爆发前，密苏里州成千上万的租户要用超过50%的收入来租房，而现在……成千上万的人失业，或者在这场流行病的一段时期内失业。”

Federal assistance

联邦援助

Many Americans have been receiving financial assistance through state and federal unemployment payments. But the federal assistance of $600 a week ended in late July. Activists say that millions of people are in danger of not being able to pay their rent.

许多美国人一直通过州和联邦的失业救济金获得帮助。但每周600美元的联邦援助已于7月底结束。活动人士表示，数百万人面临无法支付房租的危险。

Housing rights supporters are calling for rent aid and an extension of eviction prevention measures. Gina Chiala heads the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom. The group provides legal advice about housing to poor workers in Kansas City, Missouri. Chiala said the federal government should find permanent ways to deal with housing problems for the poor.

住房权利支持者呼吁提供租金援助，并延长防止驱逐措施的时限。吉娜·基亚拉(Gina Chiala)是“就业和自由中心”的负责人。该组织为密苏里州堪萨斯城的贫困工人提供住房方面的法律建议。基亚拉表示，联邦政府应该找到解决穷人住房问题的长久方法。

Chiala and other housing activists want property owners to work with their tenants to negotiate lower payments when possible.

基亚拉和其他住房活动人士希望房主与租户合作，在可能的情况下协商降低租金。

About 40 percent of the nation's rental properties are owned by independent landlords. Many cannot take the losses from unpaid rent.

美国大约40%的出租房产为独立业主所有。许多人无法承受不收租金造成的损失。

Tracey Benson is president and founder of the National Association of Independent Landlords. The association provides help and support to its 200,000 members nationwide.

特雷西·本森（Tracey Benson）是美国独立房东协会的主席和创始人。该协会为全国20万会员提供帮助和支持。

Benson said her organization is getting calls from concerned landlords all the time. She said they are worried about losing not only their rental properties but their own homes.

本森说，她的组织一直接到忧虑的房东打来的电话。她说，他们不仅担心失去出租的房产，也担心失去自己的住房。

Kathy Phillips is an association member in North Carolina. She owns 10 rental properties that she depends on as her only way to make a living. One of her renters has been falling behind on rent payments.

凯西·菲利普斯(Kathy Phillips)是北卡罗来纳州的一名协会成员。她拥有10处出租房产，这是她唯一的经济来源。她的一位房客一直拖欠房租。

"She's a single parent and I don't feel comfortable evicting a single parent in this climate..."

“她是一个单亲妈妈，这种状况下，赶走单亲妈妈让我觉得十分内疚……”

Phillips offered her at-risk renter a 50 percent reduction on her rent for three months. She does not expect her to repay the difference.

菲利普斯将对方一个季度的租金降低了50%。她并不指望对方能偿还差额。

Phillips also said she believes the federal government needs to do more for both renters and landlords.

菲利普斯还表示，她认为联邦政府需要为租户和房东做更多的事情。

"I don't think there's a lot of answers until we have income for all these unemployed people," she said.

她说：“我觉得也没有多少解决方案，除非为所有失业人群提供收入。”