Jan 7, 2026
Going from a stable 10-year career to unemployment — and homelessness — in the span of a year is a scenario most families don’t want to imagine. But for many, this is becoming reality, not just an abstract concept. This is the situation Charlotte resident Johnika Jamison is facing. The 38-year old married mother of three who holds a master’s degree and worked as a school counselor for nearly a decade.
Jamison went from earning a steady salary of $60,000 (roughly the median income for American workers (1)) to being unemployed and living with her husband and children in a crammed hotel room they scramble to cover daily to ensure the next night’s stay.
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Jamison’s misfortune started when two high-risk pregnancies and her husband’s flare-ups of multiple sclerosis required more of her time and attention. While she lost the baby in that first difficult pregnancy, she gave birth to her youngest, now 1 years old. But there are other health challenges that compounded the family’s hardship. Jamison’s middle daughter, 9, has epilepsy while her youngest child has severe plagiocephaly — a condition that causes irregular shaping of a child’s head. With Jamison losing her job and trying to care for her kids and husband, the family was eventually evicted.
And Jamison is motivated to work. "I don’t want the only thing I do to be caregiving," Jamison told USA Today (2). "Things are really the worst that they've ever been and it's really linked to me having to care for everybody else."
Jamison’s high-risk pregnancies forced her to take paid and unpaid medical leave. She said her workplace did not properly accommodate her health issues and at the end of the 2024-25 school year, they did not renew her contract.
She’s been applying for other jobs in the field without luck, forcing her to drain her savings and to start missing rent payments. Managing the various family members' medical issues and caring for her children also limited her time and availability to focus singularly on finding new employment.
Jamison’s husband works sporadically as a delivery driver on the days his MS symptoms allow, but he hasn’t been approved for disability assistance yet. Jamison also says her family hasn’t qualified for housing assistance or shelters, due to lack of room and the couple’s employment challenges. Having been previously evicted also taints her subsequent rental applications.
And Jamison is not alone — more Americans may be closer to Jamison’s situation than they think, being a single personal crisis away from financial collapse.
Just how fragile are Americans’ finances?
Two-thirds of extremely low-income households spend over half their income on housing (3), according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s 2025 State of Homelessness report.
“For many, rising costs create an impossible choice between paying for housing and other necessities like healthcare, groceries, or clothing,” the group said in its report.
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Even higher earners are at risk. A 2025 report (4) from The Harris Poll, a global market research and consulting firm, found that one in three workers earning six figures described themselves as financially distressed.
Caregiving (5) is another major risk factor for homelessness that often goes unnoticed, Ann Marie Staudenmair, senior legal counsel for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, told USA Today.
Routine childcare itself is costly, but a sick or disabled child can force people away from their work and risk a situation much like Jamison’s: job loss, late rent payments, eviction and then homelessness.
In some ways, Jamison is lucky; Following the initial publication of her story, readers have reached out wanting to help. Jamison has created a GoFundMe on Dec. 18, which has raised over $60,000 to help her family find stability.
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Strengthening your safety net
It’s a scary thought that even highly educated, hardworking Americans with stable jobs and an average American median income can fall into financial turmoil in a blink. But you can protect yourself and your family with emergency funds, financial planning, safeguards and the knowledge that you can’t take your income for granted.
Here are some ways you can fortify your finances:
Treat housing like an emergency expense, not a fixed cost
Most people think of housing as untouchable until it’s already in crisis. But families facing medical or caregiving stress may need to rethink that assumption sooner. That can mean proactively downsizing, negotiating rent reductions, or even breaking a lease before arrears build and an eviction hits their record, making it harder to get approved for subsequent leases.
A caregiving contingency plan
Workers with chronically ill children, spouses, or parents can benefit from mapping out a backup plan in advance: who can step in for care, which bills can be deferred, what work accommodations are realistic and when it’s time to ask for help. That plan may include identifying nonprofits, legal aid clinics, or hospital social workers before a crisis.
Preserve employability, not just employment
When health or caregiving pressures make a full-time role fragile, the priority may need to shift from keeping one job to keeping yourself employable. That can mean accepting part-time, contract, or lower-paying work earlier — even if it feels like a step back — to avoid long resume gaps and keep income flowing. It can also mean documenting accommodation requests and outcomes, which may later support unemployment claims, legal action, or reemployment efforts.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Bureau of Labour Statistics (1); USA Today (2, 5); United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (3); The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice (4)
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Chris Clark is a Kansas City–based freelance journalist covering personal finance, housing and retirement. A former Associated Press editor and reporter, he writes plainspoken stories that help readers make smarter financial decisions.
