Published TUESDAY November 28, 2023: 'Housing Purgatory' by ZUMA Partner newspaper The Tampa Bay Times photo-journalist Douglas R. Clifford and story by staff writer Lauren Peace: Unable to find affordable housing and barred by poor credit or hefty security deposits, families across Tampa Bay are cramming into motel rooms to avoid life on the street. Not quite homeless but stuck in transition, working families like Jennifer Spencer's are trapped in housing purgatory. In a state that's second-worst in the nation for low-income people seeking housing, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, getting out has begun to feel like a fantasy. Welcome to 'Housing Purgatory'
© zReportage.com Issue #916 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY November 28, 2023: 'Housing Purgatory' by ZUMA Partner newspaper The Tampa Bay Times photo-journalist Douglas R. Clifford and story by staff writer Lauren Peace: Unable to find affordable housing and barred by poor credit or hefty security deposits, families across Tampa Bay are cramming into motel rooms to avoid life on the street. Not quite homeless but stuck in transition, working families like Jennifer Spencer's are trapped in housing purgatory. In a state that's second-worst in the nation for low-income people seeking housing, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, getting out has begun to feel like a fantasy. Welcome to 'Housing Purgatory'
Palm Harbor Inn resident JEREMY SCHREIBER, 25, left, works to clean up palm fronds while JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, ABRIEL WARREN, 26, LILLI LOY, 2, and ELLIE WARREN, 5, climb stairs to their current home a second-floor motel room. Not quite homeless but stuck in transition, working families like Jennifer Spencer's are trapped in housing purgatory.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, left, her granddaughter LILLI LOY, 2, center, and daughter, ABRIEL WARREN, 26, visit in their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn. Five years ago, there were 470 children in Florida's Pinellas County School District living in motels and hotels. Last year, that number jumped to 757, with an additional 3,500 tallied as homeless.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ELLIE WARREN, 5, waits for a ride to her school bus stop on Tuesday, at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ABRIEL WAREREN, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook a stack of turkey bacon in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ABRIEL WARREN, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook scrambled eggs in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
LILLI LOY, 2, leaps up from a bed during a diaper change with her mother, ABRIEL WARREN, 26, right, at their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ELLIE WARREN, 5, makes a dash for her school bus stop on Tuesday, at the Palm Harbor Inn in Palm Harbor.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ABRIEL WARREN, 26, kisses her daughter, ELLIE, 5, at a school bus stop near their home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ELLIE WARREN, 5, right, boards a school bus near her home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
The swimming pool at the Palm Harbor Inn. Unable to find affordable housing and barred by poor credit or hefty security deposits, families across Tampa Bay are cramming into motel rooms to avoid life on the street.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ROB AVIS, 42, manager, at the Palm Harbor Inn, has been instrumental in helping residents at the motel in Palm Harbor.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Palm Harbor Inn resident HARRY BURNS, 66, enjoys a beer at his motel room in Palm Harbor. Burns, a professional chef, moved to the area two years ago from Philadelphia and said the inn has the cheapest rooms in the area.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Palm Harbor Inn resident SKYLAR DUTCHER, 21, gives her son LUCAS LISCHALK, 2, a ride on a scooter through the main courtyard at the motel in Palm Harbor which they currently call home.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ROB AVIS, 42, manager at the Palm Harbor Inn, center, visits with BONNIE RICHARDS, 64, left, CLARISSA CAMACHO, 61, FRANK HANES, 67, and MARY ANN BRAUN, 53, at the motel in Palm Harbor.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Palm Harbor Inn resident JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, left, watches her granddaughters, ELLIE WARREN, 5, center, and LILLI LOY, 2, outside their motel room in Palm Harbor.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Children unload desserts from a 'Good Neighbors' food donation van on Sunday, at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
Palm Harbor Inn resident SKYLAR DUTCHER, 21, gives her son LUCAS LISCHALK, 2, a ride on a scooter, with the help of daughter CAROLYNE LISCHALK, 4, at the main courtyard at the motel in Palm Harbor.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, center, helps organize the distribution of a large food donation by 'Good Neighbors' for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, hugs HEATHER BROOKE, left, with 'Good Neighbors' moments after Brooke arrived with a large food donation for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
ABRIEL WARREN, 26, put shoes on her five-year-old daughter, ELLIE, in their room at the Palm Harbor Inn as JENNIFER SPENCER, 47, sleeps, at left.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
LILLI LOY, 2, sleeps in the crib at her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn.
© Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
