Photos: This is what life inside a Florida motel looks like for working families
Unable to find affordable housing and barred by poor credit or hefty security deposits, families across Tampa Bay are cramming into motel rooms to avoid life on the street. In a state that’s second-worst in the nation for low-income people seeking housing, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, getting out has begun to feel like a fantasy.
Palm Harbor Inn resident Jeremy Schreiber, 25, left, works to clean up palm fronds while Jennifer Spencer, 47, Abby Warren, 26, Lilli Loy, 2, and Ellie Warren, 5, climb stairs to their second-floor motel room on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, at the motel in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Jennifer Spencer, 47, left, her grandaughter, Lilli Loy, 2, center, and daughter, Abriel Warren, 26, visit in their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ellie Warren, 5, waits for a ride to her school bus stop on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Abriel Warren, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook a stack of turkey bacon for breakfast in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Abriel Warren, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook scrambled eggs in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
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Lilli Loy, 2, leaps up from a bed during a diaper change with her mother, Abriel Warren, 26, right, at their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ellie Warren, 5, makes a dash for her bus stop on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Abriel Warren, 26, kisses her daughter, Ellie Warren, 5, at a school bus stop near their home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ellie Warren, 5, right, boards a school bus near her home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
The Palm Harbor Inn. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
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A stack of used mattresses lay near dumpsters at the Palm Harbor Inn, as manager Rob Avis works to renovate rooms for future families. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Rob Avis, 42, manager, at the Palm Harbor Inn, has been instrumental in helping residents at the motel in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Palm Harbor Inn resident Harry Burns, 66, enjoys a beer at his motel room on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, at the motel in Palm Harbor. Burns, a professional chef, moved to the area two years ago from Philadelphia and said the inn has the cheapest rooms in the area. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Palm Harbor Inn resident Skylar Dutcher, 21, gives her son Lucas Lischalk, 2, a ride on a scooter through the main courtyard at the motel on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Rob Avis, 42, manager at the Palm Harbor Inn, center, visits with Bonnie Richards, 64, left, Clarissa Camacho, 61, Frank Hanes, 67, and Mary Ann Braun, 53, at the motel on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
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Children unload desserts from a Good Neighbors food donation van on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Jennifer Spencer, 47, center, helps organize the distribution of a large food donation by Good Neighbors for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Jennifer Spencer, 47, hugs Heather Brooke, left, with Good Neighbors moments after Brooke arrived with a large food donation for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Abriel Warren, 26, put shoes on her five-year-old daughter, Ellie Warren, in their room at the Palm Harbor Inn as Jennifer Spencer, 47, sleeps, at left, on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Lilli Loy, 2, sleeps in the crib at her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
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/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YNN44MSVBNBHVFSLJ7CXUCU4AU.JPG "Palm Harbor Inn resident Jeremy Schreiber, 25, left, works to clean up palm fronds while Jennifer Spencer, 47, Abby Warren, 26, Lilli Loy, 2, and Ellie Warren, 5, climb stairs to their second-floor motel room on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, at the motel in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/DKFPE6ZPNJGOFIH2PVYM3RY5W4.JPG "Jennifer Spencer, 47, left, her grandaughter, Lilli Loy, 2, center, and daughter, Abriel Warren, 26, visit in their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YL2DJS62BNDQVL5WIUPJXTISUU.JPG "Ellie Warren, 5, waits for a ride to her school bus stop on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/QPGXHBNINRDH7CQSQYDT25HYME.JPG "Abriel Warren, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook a stack of turkey bacon for breakfast in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/G52S6OCH6NHB7NSCPEXPXLXLGA.JPG "Abriel Warren, 26, left, uses a griddle to cook scrambled eggs in the bathroom of her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/WUDMXJDTWNCM7NCJSLY6H2ILR4.JPG "Lilli Loy, 2, leaps up from a bed during a diaper change with her mother, Abriel Warren, 26, right, at their one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/6SFJWHQWUFB4PNQ3KPKKQPWE3M.JPG "Ellie Warren, 5, makes a dash for her bus stop on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AK3JQQB6RRAMRIN5526TOTQUHI.JPG "Abriel Warren, 26, kisses her daughter, Ellie Warren, 5, at a school bus stop near their home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/WO6DT23ANJHTHJFIUAPCOL2R2E.JPG "Ellie Warren, 5, right, boards a school bus near her home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/67Y4OHSA7NCTBKEREPKWJKNYCU.JPG "The Palm Harbor Inn.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/6S2AH7LPGFBFVHIONRH4QVNBZQ.JPG "A stack of used mattresses lay near dumpsters at the Palm Harbor Inn, as manager Rob Avis works to renovate rooms for future families.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/IC36ANQ2FRDDJLBL6PDRZK2GUA.JPG "Rob Avis, 42, manager, at the Palm Harbor Inn, has been instrumental in helping residents at the motel in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/L6C6CX4BAFCH5DSYI5PWDQS6OA.JPG "Palm Harbor Inn resident Harry Burns, 66, enjoys a beer at his motel room on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, at the motel in Palm Harbor. Burns, a professional chef, moved to the area two years ago from Philadelphia and said the inn has the cheapest rooms in the area.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/MEEC6N4H3BEZHHQPGATYJIAK2Y.JPG "Palm Harbor Inn resident Skylar Dutcher, 21, gives her son Lucas Lischalk, 2, a ride on a scooter through the main courtyard at the motel on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/FHKZFZXEQZCA7MCEINYTE5DCPU.JPG "Rob Avis, 42, manager at the Palm Harbor Inn, center, visits with Bonnie Richards, 64, left, Clarissa Camacho, 61, Frank Hanes, 67, and Mary Ann Braun, 53, at the motel on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/MI3SNIWY5VDZTCMVHMY45SDCYE.JPG "Children unload desserts from a Good Neighbors food donation van on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, at the Palm Harbor Inn.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YIYAKSQMY5E7FNDPQ4DRF73DUE.JPG "Jennifer Spencer, 47, center, helps organize the distribution of a large food donation by Good Neighbors for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/4TE42AF3NJHZVG6UG6GBTY6FB4.JPG "Jennifer Spencer, 47, hugs Heather Brooke, left, with Good Neighbors moments after Brooke arrived with a large food donation for residents of the Palm Harbor Inn on Sunday, Nov 5, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/YC34TWOWXFCXBBFVCF5ZEPOV2I.JPG "Abriel Warren, 26, put shoes on her five-year-old daughter, Ellie Warren, in their room at the Palm Harbor Inn as Jennifer Spencer, 47, sleeps, at left, on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/LGPTVEB53BDSRLVQHZ5NH7HA24.JPG "Lilli Loy, 2, sleeps in the crib at her one-room home at the Palm Harbor Inn on Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, in Palm Harbor.")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/c382d27e-ea94-4ada-bbc0-8261e6ef4f46.png "Douglas R. Clifford - Photographer")
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