Pricey rents back East threaten to push low-income seniors to the streets
It’s 9:30 a.m. on the Friday before Memorial Day, and John Monte is busy ladling homemade mushroom soup for diners at the Dinner Program for Homeless Women, or as the servers casually call it, “The 9:30 Club.”
Monte, 68, has worked as a cook for most of his adult life and has worked in this kitchen for eight months. He is also homeless, and is staying with one of his sons until he can find affordable housing in the Washington, D.C. area.
“It’s difficult,” Monte said. “We can’t pay [D.C. rent], especially on a fixed income. The rent is too high.” ...