With few options and facing eviction, elderly renters fight for what they’ve got

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"SRO" stands for Single Room Occupancy, and is a low-cost living arrangement in which bathrooms and a kitchen are shared by the tenants. Rooms are small, and frequently, buildings are only minimally maintained by the landlord - if at all. But tenants rarely complain out of fear of losing the only housing they often can afford on limited incomes. (Photo by Bear Guerra)

The average rent in LA is over $2,000 a month. But at this Lincoln Heights SRO, elderly residents have been paying under $400 a month for decades. It’s cheap for a reason: The building is old and not very centrally located, and residents have to share bathrooms and a kitchen.

They are now facing eviction. Most of the people who live here don’t speak English, and many have nowhere to go. While spending a day with long-time resident Mrs. Yeung and her neighbors it became clear that facing eviction meant a level of instability and fear that none of these seniors was prepared for. Now they’re learning how to fight back.