This is what it looks like when you're part of the working poor.
When Henry was laid off three and a half years ago, his family was forced to leave their house.
The house they were renting had mold in the basement. Though Lisette was working two part-time jobs, they couldn't find another place to live.
GIFs via Make Room/YouTube.
They tried to access programs for people who needed help — but they didn't meet the requirements.
They searched for programs that could help but didn't qualify because they didn't have problems with substance abuse and had some income.
And the homeless shelters they looked at didn't provide for their needs because not all shelters are set up for families. Some wanted to split them up by gender.
Now, they're living in an apartment that doesn't feel like home and costs too much. More than half their income goes to rent and utilities.
Living paycheck-to-paycheck is pretty much standard operating procedure for millions of families in our country.
In fact, paying at least half of monthly income for rent is a reality for about 1 in 4 U.S. renters.
The Great Recession had a lot to do with this.
Roughly 6 million homeowners lost their homes through foreclosure since 2008, which put more pressure on the rental market. And beyond that, a lot of folks who were just getting their start in the working world (hello, 20-somethings) began their adult careers far behind where they should have been.
As of 2013, the typical renter's income had fallen by more than 10% since 2001 (after adjusting for inflation) while the median rent had increased by 5%.
And, according to Make Room, 9 million kids are on the brink of homelessness because their parents can barely afford to pay rent.
The thing is, this is not simply inevitable. It can be fixed.
That's good news for folks like Lisette and Henry.
Make Room is a nonprofit campaign for renters that is working to fix this problem by:
- creating a network of companies, nonprofits, advocates, and policymakers to invest in affordable homes and advocate for change.
- campaigning to change policies and increase both the affordability and development of rentals.
- raising awareness among policymakers and the media about the economic squeeze renters face today.
- telling the stories of people who rent and organizing forums where the conversations begin (or continue). This includes working with celebrities and songwriters who are committed to the cause and want to help spread the word.
Recently, Carly Rae Jepsen stepped up to help spread the word.
To bring in even more supporters and awareness, Make Room regularly holds concerts in homes like the Duartes'. Earlier this year, Jepsen stopped by to perform some of the biggest pop hits.
What a treat! Check out the whole concert!
Help support Make Room's efforts in 2016 for families like the Duartes and 11 million households in need.
To help Make Room do great stuff like pass initiatives in key places and increase the supply of affordable homes, check out their holiday challenge. It's a gift worth considering this holiday season.
Listen to the Duarte family's emotional story here. It might strike a chord:
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.