Pam Fessler

Pam Fessler reflects on her 47 years of reporting, and the changes that journalism has undergone during that time.

The Alexandria Eviction Prevention Partnership in Northern Virginia is one of the divergent programs meant to help fight off evictions.

With the CDC eviction moratorium extended for a final month, efforts are underway to speed up distribution of billions of dollars in rental assistance and set up eviction diversion programs.

The housing gap between Black and white homeowners has been consistent for decades, and so far it continues to widen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the pandemic presented a historic threat.

The nation's homeless population is expected to rise in the coming months, especially if a federal eviction moratorium ends in June.

The agency's focus will be different from the Trump administration, which fired the head of the interagency council on homelessness and replaced him with an advocate for a more punitive approach.

The Senate Rules Committee held a contentious markup of legislation to revamp the nation's voting and campaign finance rules, laying bare the deep partisan divide over how elections should be run.

The federal government plans to release $5 billion in new housing vouchers to help those at risk of homelessness. Low-income tenants often struggle to find landlords who will accept such vouchers.

The Biden administration will distribute $5 billion in emergency housing vouchers included in a COVID-19 relief bill. But it's not always easy for voucher holders to find a place to use them.

Many of them work in service industries —as cooks, Uber drivers, nursing aides— jobs that have been especially affected this past year. "I don't have money to pay rent," resident Mahlet Kassa says.

The complex houses hundreds of immigrants, mostly from Africa. Many of them have faced eviction because they lost service jobs during the pandemic.

The state's Republican-led House approved a bill that would impose strict photo ID and other requirements on voting. The measure reflects a deep partisan divide over access to the polls.

Missouri is one of the states where Republican legislators are trying to impose new voting restrictions. Voting advocacy groups are fighting against that. The divide has deep roots.

The annual homeless count by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows an increase in people living outside. The 2020 numbers in the report do not reflect the impact of the pandemic.

Congress approved $25 billion in emergency rental assistance to keep people housed during the pandemic, but states are facing glitches on the federal moratorium for renters and landlords.

Congress approved $25 billion in emergency rental assistance to keep people housed during the pandemic. States are struggling to get the money out to those who need it.

"Black individuals make up about 21% of all renters, but they make up 35% of all defendants on eviction cases," says Peter Hepburn, a researcher for Princeton University's Eviction Lab.

Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, President Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, told a Senate panel that she has proved she can work well with Republicans.

President Biden nominated Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The U.S. faces an eviction and housing affordability crisis — made worse by the pandemic.