It's not a house, it's a home: Florida's Foreclosure Crisis

Greg Kahn

Naples Daily News

In 2009 Southwest Florida became ground zero for the economic downturn in the United States. It was one of the top regions for foreclosures and jobless rates quickly rose over 10 percent. While investors were making millions of dollars buying and selling the foreclosures, middle class families were being evicted, living in hotels and sleeping on neighbors couches. Vicky Heinel sits in her car, just a few feet from her home that is going into foreclosure. Heinel, who has lived in the home for three years, only has a few days before the bank comes to change the locks. 'I don't think I can do this, I don't think I can start over again,' Heinel said. Heinel lost the home after she was let go from a nursing position eight months ago and hasn't been able to find work since.

Greg Kahn, "It's not a house, it's a home: Florida's Foreclosure Crisis," in POYi Archive, Item #43452, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/43452 (accessed April 21, 2025).