I have been a renter since 1984 and I have worked pretty steadily since 1980. I left my stressful job in Sacramento with the State of California in August 2008, thinking that I would have no trouble getting another job. A few months later, the economic downturn hit. Government hiring was frozen and no one would hire me because it was assumed that I wouldn’t be happy with a lower paying job. After working some part time jobs and receiving Unemployment Insurance extension benefits, I was evicted from my apartment of ten years, a week before Christmas in 2011. I stayed with friends and when I went to LA to look for work, I ended up staying in emergency shelters for three months. After returning to Sacramento and staying in a friend’s spare bedroom for three years, I finally found a full time job in June 2015. I work with homeless families trying to find housing and because of my eviction, I am in the same situation that they are in. Even though I am single, 59, and make over 50K, I am forced to live in an apartment where I don’t feel safe. I can only dream of getting into a nice gated community. Because of my eviction, I can’t even get into a senior apartment. I have two degrees, 30 years of work and rental history, but I am made to feel like a criminal. This is not how I thought I would end up in my late 50’s.