OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Omaha Eviction Project highlights the housing and eviction problems in Douglas County.
The report is a team effort between the social science data lab at Creighton University and Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc.
The Omaha Eviction Project, using data obtained by the Nebraska State Court System, shows an average of 3,528 evictions a year in Douglas County.
According to the project, this is a higher rate than Lincoln and Des Moines, but lower than Kansas City.
The largest concentrations of evictions center around North Omaha and the edges of Downtown Omaha.
The report shines a light on the racial disparity in the spatial distribution of evictions in Omaha and shows how evictions link to health and education disparities as well.
For example, the pandemic has exposed the racial and socioeconomic landscape of health outcomes in Omaha.
The project reports 80% of those who tested positive for COVID-19 in the county were non-white, when 69% of the county is white.
This could be because of the spread of the virus in meatpacking plants in South Omaha, as well as other essential workplaces.
According to the project where there are higher rates of COVID-19 cases, there are also higher rates of eviction.
The CDC said that evictions and homelessness contribute to a higher number of cases and other negative health outcomes, which is why the CDC placed a federal ban on evictions during the pandemic.
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