I left college with a deep sense that I needed to understand poverty more. — Matthew Desmond College Copy Share Image
The things you're closest to are often the things you know least about. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
When I want to understand a problem, I want to understand it from the ground level. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
The face of the eviction epidemic is moms and kids, especially poor moms from predominantly Latino and African American neighborhoods. — Matthew Desmond African american Copy Share Image
African American women, and moms in particular, are evicted at disproportionately high rates. — Matthew Desmond African american Copy Share Image
I don't think that you can address poverty unless you address the lack of affordable housing in the cities. — Matthew Desmond Affordable housing Copy Share Image
'Sag Harbor' brought me a new readership - it's a coming of age tale about growing up in the '80s. — Matthew Desmond Age Copy Share Image
I see myself working in the tradition of sociology and journalism that tries to bear witness to poverty. — Matthew Desmond Journalism Copy Share Image
Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy makers and community organizers all across the country is really important to me. — Matthew Desmond Community Copy Share Image
Eviction riots erupted during the Depression, though the number of poor families who faced eviction each year was a fraction of what… — Matthew Desmond Depression Copy Share Image
It takes a good amount of time and money to establish a home. Eviction can erase all that. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
“For example, a program that ran from 2005 to 2008 in the South Bronx provided more than 1,300 families with legal assistance… — Matthew Desmond Family Copy Share Image
“In the vast majority of cases (83 percent), landlords who received a nuisance citation for domestic violence responded by either evicting the… — Matthew Desmond Domestic violence Copy Share Image
Since evictions go through court, it has a record that comes with it, and many landlords that I spend time with use… — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
Without the ability to plant roots and invest in your community or your school - because you're paying 60, 70, 80 percent… — Matthew Desmond Ability Copy Share Image
Healthcare providers have helped me see that decent, safe housing can promote physical and mental wellness; and engaged citizens have shown me… — Matthew Desmond Civic Copy Share Image
I don't want to sound Pollyannish about this. I understand that poverty is never just poverty. It's often this collection of maladies,… — Matthew Desmond Adversity Copy Share Image
If we are going to spend the bulk of our public dollars on the affluent - at least when it comes to… — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord… — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
“Exploitation thrives when it comes to the essentials, like housing and food. Most of the 12 million Americans who take out high-interest… — Matthew Desmond Exploitation Copy Share Image
“Whatever our way out of this mess, one thing is certain. This degree of inequality, this withdrawal of opportunity, this cold denial… — Matthew Desmond Education Copy Share Image
“90 percent of landlords are represented by attorneys, and 90 percent of tenants are not.35 Low-income families on the edge of eviction… — Matthew Desmond Family Copy Share Image
“When several patients committed suicide in the days leading up to their eviction, a group of psychiatrists published a letter in Psychiatric… — Matthew Desmond Housing Copy Share Image
“As the move went on, the woman slowed down. At first, she had borne down on the emergency with focus and energy,… — Matthew Desmond Drinking water Copy Share Image
“Milwaukee used to be flush with good jobs. But throughout the second half of the twentieth century, bosses in search of cheap… — Matthew Desmond Cheap labor Copy Share Image
“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down… — Matthew Desmond Fire Copy Share Image
“A single eviction could destabilize multiple city blocks, not only the block from which a family was evicted but also the block… — Matthew Desmond Displacement Copy Share Image
Losing a home sends families to shelters, abandoned houses, and the street. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
Children didn't shield families from eviction: They exposed them to it. — Matthew Desmond Children Copy Share Image
A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country. — Matthew Desmond Change Copy Share Image
You can get out of maintaining property at code if the family is behind on rent. — Matthew Desmond Copy Share Image
Poverty was a relationship, I thought, involving poor and rich people alike. — Matthew Desmond Money Copy Share Image
“Families who spend more on housing spend less on their children.” — Matthew Desmond Children Copy Share Image
All homeowners in America may deduct mortgage interest on their first and second homes. — Matthew Desmond America Copy Share Image
