KILLEEN, TX — COVID-19 has altered the way some families live their day-to-day lives. But in some cases, it has destroyed incomes, leaving some to live on the streets. The CDC issued a moratorium to combat that.
For now, room 219 at the Travelodge in Killeen is considered home to the Guerreros.
“I feel the lowest of lows right now. I mean to know that, like i said, I tried everything that I possibly could and something that was beyond my control because of this virus,” said Vince Guerrero. “I can’t give my kids what they need.”
With a good job secured at the local Walmart, Vince and his wife moved from Kansas in hopes of creating a better life for their kids. When schools shut down, his wife was forced to leave work and look after the kids.
“At least we have a motel room. At least have a roof right now,” Guerrero said while shaking his head. “But seeing some of these other people that are sleeping in their cars, I mean it’s a difficult time right now.”
The CDC recently issued a moratorium stating that those who tried to obtain government rental assistance, make less than $99,000 a year, are unable to pay full or partial rent and are using their best efforts to make timely payments cannot be evicted.
“We’ve got some amazing resources in our community, such as United Way where they can get rental assistance if they need it,” said Barbara Bozon, the executive director at Central Texas Housing Consortium. “We’re more than happy to help them find the resources if that’s what they need.”
Bozon said they have seen an influx in housing assistance during the pandemic, but recently it’s eased up.
“I think people are just understanding what they need to do and how to do it, and luckily a lot of people have been able to go back to work that necessarily might not have been working before,” she said.
That’s not the case for Vince and his family. He wants people to be aware of the resources available to them.
“Yes, it sucks that it happened to me, but if I can help prevent this from happening to somebody else then that’s my main thing,” Guerrero said. “At least nobody else will have to go through what we're going through right now.”
He told 25 News that he has plans of moving into a housing complex as early as tomorrow as he and his wife get back on their feet.
