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Safer at Home: Evicted in a Pandemic

Spratley
John Spratley, 65, stands outside his hotel room where he has lived with his family since July 21, 2020, when they were evicted from the apartment they had lived in for 12 years. (Photo: Julia Rendleman)

The federal government and Virginia put protections in place to prevent evictions during the pandemic, but the measures haven’t covered everyone. Some of the most vulnerable people in the region have lost their homes.

VPM’s Whittney Evans worked with photojournalist Julia Rendleman to document the story of the Spratley family, one of many evicted despite federal and state protections.

Whittney Evans is VPM News’ features editor. She studied journalism and political theory at Morehead State University, where she was also a student reporter at WMKY. Before coming to VPM News in 2018, she worked for KCPW and KUER in Salt Lake City, covering politics, government, criminal justice, housing and more.

Email Whittney: [email protected]