‘It’s the most stressful thing’: rising US gas prices are new blow for homeless – The Guardian

For the past five months Anna Hokuf has lived in her car with her cat after she left an abusive home environment. Trying to save enough money to secure an apartment doing odd jobs while homeless has been hard enough for the 19-year-old. Now rising gas prices have made it all but impossible.

“I don’t have the ability to save much money and gas prices being as high as they are at almost $4 a gallon really makes being homeless tough,” said Hokuf, of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, area. “I have to keep my car on all the time to stay warm and to keep my cat warm, which wastes more gas and has caused a strain on my car.”

It takes about $60 to fill up Hokuf’s car’s tank and about $40 a day for gas to keep warm at night. Her food options are limited as she doesn’t have any way to heat food. She showers and does laundry intermittently whenever she can scrounge enough money for a hotel room for a night or two. “Unfortunately all the money I’m able to receive generally goes to gas or food for my cat,” she said.

Gas prices have soared over the past year and are expected to continue climbing as the Russian invasion of Ukraine further disrupts oil production, production that was already suffering from the impact of Covid-19. Last week the price of oil hit its highest in more than seven years and the war threatens to stoke the US’s already troubling inflation issues.

The Biden administration has pledged to take action to curb rising gas prices with the announcement of economic sanctions on Russia, which is the second largest oil producer and exporter in the world. So far the sanctions have not included Russia’s oil and gas industry, as Europe is heavily dependent on it and doing so would cause oil prices to spike even further.

According to the American Automobile Association, the average gallon of gas in the US is $3.619 as of 1 March, compared with $2.72 a gallon one year ago. States with the highest average gas prices include California at $4.837 a gallon and Hawaii at $4.565 a gallon, with Arkansas the lowest at $3.243 a gallon.

Oil companies have reaped enormous profits from rising gas prices over the past year, with the largest 24 oil companies reporting $174bn in profits in the first nine months of 2021, as companies have rejected requests to increase oil production to mitigate price increases.

In the meantime the rising gas prices are disproportionately hurting low-income Americans, especially a growing segment of the US homeless population that lives out of their vehicles.

In Michigan, a young woman living out of her car who requested to remain anonymous makes money by delivering food and groceries through gig apps, spending anywhere from $10 to $15 a day to $100 a day on gas. They have lived in their car since the end of December after losing their job in September and couldn’t afford to stay in their apartment. They rely on a Planet Fitness gym membership to shower regularly

“Having to idle for heat when I’m in colder areas definitely takes a toll on my gas mileage,” they said. “I don’t have the greatest credit, so buying a home is out of range for me currently, and with rent skyrocketing and most requiring income to be two to three times the rent it’s impossible to find anything affordable.”

Louie Vashiomiattii of Auburn, Washington, moved into his van about two months ago when his landlord of three years opted to sell the house where he was renting a basement apartment, and he couldn’t afford to move into a new apartment in the area as rents have soared over the past year.

“It’s the most stressful thing I deal with every day,” said Vashiomiattii. “I didn’t realize how much gas would cost when I moved into my van.”

He spends about $40 a day on gas, with much of it used to keep warm through the winter. He currently works a job in retail and is struggling to save money with high gas prices, as the apartments in his area require first and last month’s rent in addition to a security deposit.

Rising gas prices are also significantly hurting rideshare drivers, who already operate on thin profit margins.

Ben Valdez, a part-time Uber driver in Los Angeles, California, for six years, has reduced his work hours to only when surge pricing is available as gas prices in the area have hit about $5 a gallon.

“As gas prices went up, and as demand went down, I just started seeing less and less reason to drive,” said Valdez, who spends anywhere from $35 a night when he drives to $75 to fill his gas tank. “A lot of drivers are starting to feel the pinch. It’s really, really expensive to put gas in.”