Nicole Jones: Pregnant Single Mother Lives In San Francisco Garage, Still Costs $1,000 A Month

The heart-breaking image of pregnant Nicole Jones, a single mother trying to live in San Francisco, sat in her new tiny abode with her 18-month-old daughter is becoming a regular sighting across the region.

Jones was forced to move into a single car garage alongside her daughter after she lost her job. The repercussion of this was that she had to downgrade from her apartment.

But even though she has since found a new job, she hasn’t been able to keep pace with the rising rental prices, which means that she will have to remain her teeny-tiny home for the foreseeable future.

Speaking to CNN, Jones explained, “This is pretty much all I could get.” Jones recently moved into her new space in San Mateo County, and the most startling fact about her relocation is that it still costs her $1,000 per month.

Even though her kitchen, bedroom, dining room, toilet, and stand-up shower are all within the 250-square-foot space, while her microwave sits on top of a cabinet, she has installed a gas fire to keep warm and her bed is her couch, too. Jones can only enter her garage by awkwardly opening up the entire front door, which immediately shows off her home and possessions to those outside.

However, despite her perilous situation, Jones still remains in good spirits, and she even found time to joke about her new living quarters.

“There’s no playing sports or little soccer games down the hallway, because this is it. What you see is what you get.”

Even though she actually has a home, Jones believes that her current living situation is akin to being homeless. That’s because the extravagant amount that she is paying in rent, coupled with her daycare and transportation expenses, means that she has little to no money left over to spend or save at the end of each month.

“Honestly, I thought homeless people were panhandlers or people on the street that were hungry and cold and drug addicts and alcoholics who didn’t want to do anything for themselves.”

“I work and make decent money when I’m working. I think part of the reason why I became homeless is because finding work and daycare and transportation and everything combined just made it impossible for me to keep my roof over our head.”

Jones went on to add that she is glad to be in her current predicament though. “Did I think homelessness would happen to me? No,” she remarked. “Am I glad that it happened to me? Yes. It did wonders.”

Jones also admitted that she is a bundle of different emotions ahead of the birth of her son, remarking, “I’m excited, nervous, frightened, sad. I don’t know.”

However, it doesn’t look as though things are going to get any easier for Jones in the near future. According to NBC Bay Area, the average price for renting in San Mateo County has risen over 16 percent in just 2 years.

[Image via CNN]