5:00 When DaJuan Davis learned that his application for rent relief was denied, exposing him and his son to another potential eviction, he felt “crushed.”
"I felt so dejected. It took a lot of energy from me," said Davis, 45, in a January interview. The sometime commercial driver and convenience store worker, now employed by McDonald’s, sat on his living room couch, while his 13-year-old son attended virtual school in an adjacent bedroom. He said he’s rented from Monroeville-based Arbors Management for 11 years. He’d weathered eviction filings, which followed a change of employment and gap in pay, in 2019. His best hope of avoiding another eviction filing, following his July 8 loss of a job, had seemed to be Pennsylvania’s CARES Rent Relief Program. On July 10, he and the property manager filled out forms seeking six months of state help paying the $610-a-month rent for his Penn Hills apartment.