VOA慢速英语--高昂的住房成本,使人被迫住在车里

Costly¹ Housing Forces Some to Live in Vehicles

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

In February of 2020, the United Nations Commission for Social Development created their first resolution on homelessness. The resolution said homelessness has become a worldwide problem and a "serious violation² of human dignity."

It affects "people of all ages from all walks of life, in both developed and developing countries." The U.N. adds that 1.6 billion people worldwide live in poor housing conditions. And UN-Habitat has noted³ a worrying rise in homelessness around the world in the last 10 years. Young people are the age group with the highest risk of becoming homeless.

In some parts of the United States, there is a growing type of homelessness. People living in a vehicle instead of a house or apartment is becoming more common. It is called "vehicle homelessness."

During the pandemic, many people lost their jobs and their homes. There is also a lack of affordable⁴ housing and housing supply, in general. As a result, RVs, campers, and other vehicles have appeared in local campgrounds, store parking lots, and neighborhood streets. It is especially problematic in areas with very high housing costs.

The problem became so serious in Seattle, Washington, that the state's supreme⁵ court had to step in.

The Associated Press reported on August 12 that Washington's Supreme Court issued a decision that helps protect people living in their vehicles from having them towed. This decision comes from a case that gave a lot of attention to Seattle's housing crisis.

The justices held that it was "unconstitutionally" extreme for the city of Seattle to impound a homeless man's truck and require him to pay the nearly $550 costs to get it back. The court also ruled that vehicles that people live in are homes and cannot be taken from them and sold to pay their debts.

Staying in one area all summer and over-staying camping limits is a problem with many popular camping areas in the U.S. The environmental cost comes in the form of human waste dumped on the land, trees and plants destroyed, and burnable wood being used up when campfires are allowed.

Reporters for the Associated Press recently looked more closely at the issue in two towns in the western part of the U.S. -- Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Bozeman, Montana.

Bozeman, Montana

While there has been an increase in the number of people living out of their vehicles across the United States, it is new to Bozeman, Montana. That is what Heather Grenier, the CEO of Human Resources Development Council (or, HRDC), recently told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Grenier explained that during the pandemic many people in Bozeman lost their homes. So, now in Bozeman, there is an increase in vehicle homelessness. HRDC found that the majority of people living in their vehicles are working more than one job." Many lost their homes.

Megan Metzger runs a campground at Bear Canyon⁶ near Bozeman. She said the campground's month-to-month RV lots sell quickly. Many people living at the campground work in Bozeman, Metzger said, including travel nurses.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Some people are living in vehicles in and around some of the most beautiful national parks in the United States. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is close two very popular national parks: Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

Most of the land in Jackson Hole is a national park or under some type of federal protection. So, there is little land for building new homes and very little affordable housing.

Some employers in Jackson Hole have pushed employees toward the national park when housing became hard to find.

Linda Merigliano is the Wilderness⁷ & Recreation Program Manager for Wyoming's Bridger Teton National Forest. "We can't just use the national forest as the bedroom for employers to house their staff," she said. "That (is) not what the national forest is about."

Erica Robertson has been living out of her car since graduating from college in 2020. She lives mostly in the Jackson Hole area, where she can see the Teton mountains. She plans to live in her car until winter makes car life unsafe.

"If I could find housing, "Robertson said, "I probably would have done that."

Words in This Story

dignity – n. the quality or state of being worthy⁸ of honor and respect

apartment – n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

affordable – adj. within someone's ability to pay : reasonably priced

tow – v. to pull (a vehicle) behind another vehicle with a rope or chain : Sentence example: The police towed my car because it was parked illegally.

impound – v. to seize and hold in the custody⁹ of the law

recreational – adj. done for enjoyment¹⁰

camper – n. a type of vehicle or special trailer that people can live and sleep in when they are traveling or camping

lot – n. a piece or plot of land

staff – n. a group of people who work for an organization or business

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

7 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

10 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。