![]() ![]() But she said it’s a common issue for people who are being evicted. North said she’s not sure which of her clients have been evicted because of their pets or have had to give up their pets because of their housing situations. It’s the highest number of evictions in a single month since February 2020, but it’s still far below the pre-pandemic average of 823 eviction filings in a typical June. “You have to take affirmative steps.”Īccording to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, there were 511 evictions in Kansas City in June 2021. “People might not know that they’re protected,” she said. North said people facing eviction may not know about the CDC moratorium and might not have submitted a required CDC declaration to the court and their landlord, North said. And local judges can interpret the moratorium in different ways, choosing to rule that a person should be evicted, even if the moratorium prevents that person from actually being removed from a home right now. So it’s possible people are getting evicted for other reasons. The moratorium only applies to evictions due to nonpayment of rent, North said. But that doesn’t mean people aren't getting evicted in Kansas City, said Rachel North, a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Western Missouri, an organization that offers assistance with housing, immigration and other civil legal issues. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a moratorium on evictions across the U.S. KCUR 89.3 Sheltered dogs at KC Pet Project take time out of their kennels to get exercise Thursday morning. “Especially during COVID and these troubling times, being able to turn towards a pet for unconditional love and support is really important.” “The homeless, people who don’t have anybody else in their family - their pets are all they have sometimes,” Rivera said. Some people who seek help at the Pet Resource Center credit their pets with keeping them alive. ![]() Pets play an essential role in making people happy, especially if those people are already vulnerable and feeling disconnected from society, Rivera said. “A lot of people were struggling financially through loss of jobs,” she said. Michelle Rivera, founder and CEO of the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City, said she saw a rise in people seeking the affordable veterinary care and free pet food offered by her organization. “It's usually loss of income for a temporary basis. “While they may not be surrendering their pets, they are looking for additional assistance,” he said. ![]() But over the past year, he said he has observed more people using his organization’s pet food pantry because they can’t afford to feed their pets. Geoff Hall, president of Wayside Waifs, said his shelter hasn’t seen a noticeable rise in owners giving up their pets due to evictions during the pandemic. “Turning people away when they need help is just the worst feeling.” “There’s never enough resources,” she said. Meanwhile, staff are overwhelmed and many volunteers still haven’t come back, Parks said. Workers have put kennels in offices to house extra dogs. Currently, the organization is caring for about 100 dogs and 200 cats. It usually cares for 65 dogs and 165 cats - divided between the shelter and foster families. The shelter is now over capacity and has had to turn away many animals, said Meagan Parks, director of business development. So far, in the first half of 2021, they have only had 40 dog and 127 cat adoptions. In 2020, the Humane Society adopted out 175 dogs and 465 cats. To make matters worse, the spike in pandemic pet adoptions has slowed down. In all of 2020, only 17 cats were relinquished by owners with housing issues. The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City said between January and June 2021, 56 cats were given to the shelter by owners who had housing issues like hoarding, evictions or moving to a new place where pets are not allowed. Other Kansas City animal shelters say that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve seen more people giving up their pets or seeking assistance to take care of them. By comparison, in 2020, owners gave up only 1,670 animals to the KC Pet Project. It’s another record for the organization and an 88% increase over last June, Fugate said.įrom January to June 2021, the organization says nearly 2,100 pets were turned in by their owners. In June alone, 591 animals were surrendered to the KC Pet Project by their owners. KCUR 89.3 A litter of six kittens clambers on their kennel Thursday morning at KC Pet Project where "kitty litter" season has added to the overcrowding of animals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |