In 2014, Michael Romero was living a stable life. He worked as a senior accountant for a telecommunications company and rented an apartment in Toluca Lake near Universal Studios.
In early 2020, he decided to leave his job and start his own consulting business in the same field. But when the pandemic hit, his clients stopped paying, and debts began to pile up.
“COVID completely wiped me out—I lost everything,” Michael recalls. To cover his expenses, he used his savings and sold his belongings. Eventually he was forced to leave his apartment…