The Cycle of Poverty, Eviction, and Mental Illness

During Mental Health Awareness Month, we find ourselves examining the connection between poverty, mental illness, and housing instability—especially the growing risk of eviction for our neighbors in Mecklenburg County. Across the country, eviction filings have rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels, with landlords filing just over one million eviction cases in 2024 in the jurisdictions tracked by Princeton’s Eviction Lab, and in many cities filings are now higher than before 2020. Locally, Mecklenburg County saw nearly 30,000 evictions granted in FY24, a 5% increase from the previous year, and eviction filings surged 37%, placing roughly 13,000 additional households at risk of displacement and long-term housing records that can follow them for years.

Of course, it is not fair to say that all low-wage earners are mentally ill. Nor is it accurate to say that all people with mental illness live in poverty. Still, evidence shows that the two are often related. Defining the connection is a chicken-and-egg scenario: does mental illness create an inability to overcome a state of poverty, or does poverty increase or perpetuate the occurrence of mental illness?

Here at Crisis Assistance Ministry, we see the implications of the cycle of mental health, poverty, and housing instability daily. While our neighbors most often come to us for basic material needs (rent, utilities, clothing, shoes, appliances), we know there is much more going on behind the scenes: stress about keeping a job, fear of an eviction notice, worsening depression or anxiety, and the trauma of moving from place to place with children in tow.

Is it the neighborhood?

People who live in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty “exhibit worse mental health outcomes compared to people in low-poverty ones,” according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This cuts across ages, with both adults and children experiencing significant mental health effects from living in poverty. According to NAMI, Hispanic people are three times more likely to dwell in high-poverty areas than white people with low incomes, and African American communities are five times more likely. As a result, these marginalized populations are also more likely to experience mental health difficulties, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related symptoms.

Certainly, dwelling in the stressful state of poverty can worsen mental illness or ignite it. The instability that often accompanies mental illness can also lead to poverty on its own. The cycle continues and grows as more people find themselves reeling from the physical, financial, and emotional impacts of economic and political changes.

In Mecklenburg County, breaking that cycle becomes difficult if one is born outside “the wedge,” stretching through the center of Charlotte into south Charlotte. It’s surrounded by a “crescent” or “arc” of lower-income, high-poverty ZIP codes. Being born into a lower-income ZIP code that lacks accessible, affordable, and/or quality resources often means your income will remain lower and your economic mobility will be limited. The stress of these constraints—including crowded housing, frequent moves, and worries about eviction—can have negative impacts on mental health.

By the numbers

While the impacts of mental illness are most often evident anecdotally, there are plenty of numbers to consider:

• Locally, the Leading on Opportunity report shows that more than one in five children in Mecklenburg County live in families who earn less than the federal poverty level. The median income for African American and Latino families in the county is about half that of Asian and white households.
• The 2022 Mecklenburg County Community Health Assessment found more than 157,000 adults in the county reported being diagnosed with depression. A third of Mecklenburg County students reported “being so sad almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some activity.”
• The 2022 Mecklenburg County Community Health Assessment continues to highlight mental health as a growing priority for youth and adults. One in five Mecklenburg adults report being diagnosed with depression, and one in five Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school students reported seriously considering suicide in the past year.
• Food insecurity runs parallel to a higher risk of anxiety and depression, according to NAMI “Social Determinants of Health: Food Security.

Taken together, the intersection of economic struggle and mental health is clear, even if we can’t isolate which one leads to the other.

Eviction sits at the center of this intersection, turning financial strain into a crisis that can upend a family’s mental health almost overnight. Nationally, the Eviction Lab estimates that landlords filed just over one million eviction cases in 2024 across the states and cities it tracks, with an overall eviction filing rate of 7.8%—nearly eight filings for every hundred renter households—and in some Sunbelt cities filing rates topped 10%, meaning at least one eviction filing for every ten renter households. These filings are not evenly distributed: previous Eviction Lab research shows that Black renters, women, and households with children are disproportionately targeted, compounding existing disparities in both economic security and access to mental health care. As advocates at NAMI note, when eviction and homelessness rise, “poor housing” and lack of affordable options can fuel anxiety, depression, and trauma, particularly for children who are still developing their sense of safety and stability.

“Eviction sits at the center of this intersection, turning financial strain into a crisis that can upend a family’s mental health almost overnight.”

— Crisis Assistance Ministry, drawing on research from Eviction Lab and NAMI

Here in Mecklenburg County, those national trends show up in stark local numbers: inFY24, 29,716 eviction cases—about 65% of those filed—were granted in whole or in part, a 5% increase from the prior year, and filings rose 37%, pushing nearly 13,000 additional households to the brink of losing their homes or gaining an eviction record. Local housing experts warn that an eviction is rarely a single event; it often triggers job loss, school disruption, and experiences of homelessness that can deepen depression, anxiety, and substance use. Research published in 2023 in the journal “Public Administration and Management” found that adding psychiatric treatment centers in a county was associated with a measurable reduction in eviction rates, suggesting that stronger mental health support does not just improve emotional well-being—it can literally help keep people housed. As one of the study’s authors noted, expanding access to community-based psychiatric care can “reduce housing instability and the cascading harms it creates,” aligning closely with Crisis Assistance Ministry’s belief that both basic needs and mental health support are essential to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Struggle = Stress

Participants in our poverty simulations often comment on the level of stress they feel as they walk for a brief time in the shoes of their low-income neighbors. They say the mental anguish sticks with them once the simulation ends and they return to their regular lives. It’s a brief glimpse into the daily struggle of many Charlotteans’ “regular lives”—even in the shadows of our city’s gleaming skyscrapers.

Resources are available

If you know someone who is struggling with their mental health, contact Mental Health America of Central Carolinas, (704) 365-3454. Their 10 Tools for Resiliency also includes useful information for managing mental health and self-care. For neighbors worried about making rent or facing the threat of eviction, Crisis Assistance Ministry is here to help address immediate financial needs and connect households with community partners focused on housing and behavioral health, so families can stabilize today and build toward a more hopeful tomorrow.