Canopy Atlanta talked to more than 140 Tri-Cities community members about the journalism they needed. Dozens of them shared their personal experiences about the rising cost of housing in the area, with challenges ranging from high rent to developers buying properties to the cost of maintaining an older home. This story emerged from that feedback.
“We’ve been in an extended-stay the last three years here, because we’re wanting to save up for a house,” one Hapeville resident shared. “It’s taking us much longer with the prices being so high, and my husband trying to work even though he’s getting older. We’ve backed off on buying for right now. I’ve been trying to file for disability. He’s working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day at 66 years old.”
Canopy Atlanta trains and pays community members, our Fellows, to learn reporting skills to better serve their communities. LeJoi Lane is a Canopy Atlanta Fellow.
