A young mother from Fenton, Missouri, learned the hard way that people are not always kind. Although news media does not report on the facts, America has been hit hard by the global pandemic. Not only are millions of people across the country sick or have been sick with COVID-19, but millions more have also lost their jobs and have no way of providing for their families in the middle of an economic collapse unlike anything in recent history.

Although the stock market has not yet caught up with the reality of the American economy, people like Hannah McGee know how bad it truly is. From her home in Fenton, Missouri, McGee, like millions of other Americans, lost her restaurant job, and had to collect unemployment. Although the unemployment insurance helped for a while, it soon ran out, and McGee found herself incapable of paying rent at her Fenton residence.

McGee has rented the apartment she currently resides in for three years. Her child is four-years-old. McGee’s mother has lived in the apartment next door for thirteen years. Clearly, McGee and her family are dedicated tenants in the apartment building. Prior to the pandemic, McGee never had any trouble paying her rent. But when she lost her job, she found herself upon hard times and struggling to pay for bills – let alone get food on the table for her four-year-old daughter.

Before long, McGee was two months behind in rent. And her landlord was not pleased to be missing $1,000.

But McGee was stunned when she arrived home one day after a day of looking for a job to find the door of her rental ripped from the hinges. Apparently, the landlord decided to tear off McGee’s door over the late rent payments. Her apartment and all her belongings were left open and exposed to the thieves of Fenton. Not only did the cold enter the apartment through the gaping doorframe, but it also put McGee’s child in danger of dying from exposure.

“He’s always been a good landlord. I guess it just took one slip up,” McGee said. “I’ve lived here without a problem, no incidents whatsoever, I’ve been on time every month, but since COVID happened, I lost my job, I was working in a restaurant.”

Thankfully, McGee’s daughter is staying in her grandmother’s apartment while McGee tries to fix the situation. Nevertheless, the landlord’s act was disturbing and upsetting for the hard-working mother who has found herself struggling to make ends meet during a tough time in American history.

“I would never be able to do that to somebody, just make things even harder on them, especially with everything going on,” McGee said. She said it is very hard for her to seem happy for her daughter. “My Christmas tree is right next to my door frame where there’s no door. I don’t know how we’re going to open presents on Christmas like that. At least we have three walls… All I can do is find the humor in it and try to get by. I mean, a lot of people go through worse.”