LONGMEADOW, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman is accused of attacking authorities with a swarm of bees to stop a court-ordered eviction in Longmeadow.

On Thursday, the Hampden County Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page that on Oct. 12 at around 9:30 a.m., Rorie Woods drove up in her Nissan Xterra with a flatbed trailer attached up to a residence as deputies were serving a court-ordered eviction.

"She quickly jumped out of her SUV and started trying to unleash thousand of bees in manufactured hives as a deputy jumped onboard and tried to stop her," the department said in a statement.

The department said the deputy was stung several times in his face and head.

According to the sheriff's office, Woods flipped the entire hive tower off her flatbed, which "extremely agitated" the bees. Deputies said this led to several members of the sheriff's office and other bystanders getting stung, the report said.

Donning a beekeeper suit, deputies were able to arrest Woods as she attempted to a hive closer to the door of the home, according to the statement.

As deputies walked her to a cruiser, one of them told her that he and several other deputies were allergic to bees.

“Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” she allegedly stated back, according to the report.

The sheriff's office said one department staff member was hospitalized after being stung.

The Washington Post reported that several protesters were gathered outside the residence, which Woods yelled at to ask them to take care of her dog, "which she said was unfed, and left in the SUV with thousands of bees swarming outside of it," according to the sheriff's office said.

According to the sheriff's office, the 55-year-old woman did not live at the residence where deputies were serving an eviction notice.

Woods was arrested, arraigned, and released by a judge without having to post bail, but she will appear in court at a later date, the sheriff's office said.

“Never in all my years of leading the Hampden County Sheriff’s Civil Process Division have I seen something like this,” said Robert Hoffman, Chief Deputy of the Civil Process Office, in a statement. "I’m just thankful no one died because bee allergies are serious."

Entering court using a walker, a doctor's note clutched in his hand, 70-year-old Dana Williams, who suffers from serious heart problems, hypertension and asthma, pleaded to delay eviction from his two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta.

Although sympathetic, the judge said state law required him to evict Williams and his 25-year-old daughter, De'mai Williams, in April because they owed $8,348 in unpaid rent and fees on their $940-a-month apartment.

They have been living in limbo ever since.

They moved into a dilapidated Atlanta hotel room with water dripping through the bathroom ceiling, broken furniture and no refrigerator or microwave. But at $275 a week, it was all they could afford on Williams' $900 monthly social security check and the $800 his daughter gets biweekly from a state agency as her father's caretaker.

"I really don't want to be here by the time his birthday comes," said De'mai Williams in August. "For his health, it's just not right."

The Williams family is among millions of tenants from New York state to Las Vegas who have been evicted or face imminent eviction.

After a lull during the pandemic, eviction filings by landlords have come roaring back, driven by rising rents and a long-running shortage of affordable housing. Most low-income tenants can no longer count on pandemic resources that had kept them housed, and many are finding it hard to recover because they haven't found steady work or their wages haven't kept pace with the rising cost of rent, food and other necessities.

Homelessness, as a result, is rising.

"Protections have ended, the federal moratorium is obviously over, and emergency rental assistance money has dried up in most places," said Daniel Grubbs-Donovan, a research specialist at Princeton University's Eviction Lab.

"Across the country, low-income renters are in an even worse situation than before the pandemic due to things like massive increases in rent during the pandemic, inflation and other pandemic-era related financial difficulties," he said.

Eviction filings are more than 50% higher than the pre-pandemic average in some cities, according to the Eviction Lab, which tracks filings in nearly three dozen cities and 10 states. Landlords file around 3.6 million eviction cases every year.

Among the hardest hit is Houston, where rates were 56% higher in April and 50% higher in May. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, rates rose 106% in March, 55% in April and 63% in May. Nashville was 35% higher and Phoenix 33% higher in May; Rhode Island was up 32% in May.

The latest data mirrors trends that started last year, with the Eviction Lab finding nearly 970,000 evictions filed in locations it tracks — a 78.6% increase compared to 2021 when much of the country was following an eviction moratorium. By December, eviction filings were nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, rent prices nationwide are up about 5% from a year ago and 30.5% above 2019, according to the real estate company Zillow. There are few places for displaced tenants to go, with the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimating a 7.3 million shortfall of affordable units nationwide.

Many vulnerable tenants would have been evicted long ago if not for a safety net created during the pandemic.

The federal government, as well as many states and localities, issued moratoriums during the pandemic that put evictions on hold; most have now ended. There was also $46.5 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance that helped tenants pay rent and funded other tenant protections. Much of that has been spent or allocated, and calls for additional resources have failed to gain traction in Congress.

"The disturbing rise of evictions to pre-pandemic levels is an alarming reminder of the need for us to act — at every level of government — to keep folks safely housed," said Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, urging Congress to pass a bill cracking down on illegal evictions, fund legal help for tenants and keep evictions off credit reports.

Housing courts are again filling up and ensnaring the likes of 79-year-old Maria Jackson.

Jackson worked for nearly two decades building a loyal clientele as a massage therapist in Las Vegas, which has seen one of the country's biggest jumps in eviction filings. That evaporated during the pandemic-triggered shutdown in March 2020. Her business fell apart; she sold her car and applied for food stamps.

She got behind on the $1,083 monthly rent on her one-bedroom apartment and, owing $12,489 in back rent, was evicted in March. She moved in with a former client about an hour northeast of Las Vegas.

"Who could imagine this happening to someone who has worked all their life?" Jackson asked.

Last month she found a room in Las Vegas for $400 a month, paid for with her $1,241 monthly social security check. It's not home, but "I'm one of the lucky ones," she said.

"I could be in a tent or at a shelter right now."

In upstate New York, evictions are rising after a moratorium lifted last year. Forty of the state's 62 counties had higher eviction filings in 2022 than before the pandemic, including two where eviction filings more than doubled compared to 2019.

"How do we care for the folks who are evicted ... when the capacity is not in place and ready to roll out in places that haven't experienced a lot of eviction recently?" said Russell Weaver, whose Cornell University lab tracks evictions statewide.

Housing advocates had hoped the Democrat-controlled state legislature would pass a bill requiring landlords to provide justification for evicting tenants and limit rent increases to 3% or 1.5 times inflation. But it was excluded from the state budget, and lawmakers failed to pass it before the legislative session ended this month.

"Our state legislature should have fought harder," said Oscar Brewer, a tenant organizer facing eviction from the apartment he shares with his 6-year-old daughter in Rochester.

In Texas, evictions were kept down during the pandemic by federal assistance and moratoriums. But as protections went away, housing prices skyrocketed in Austin, Dallas and elsewhere, leading to a record 270,000 eviction filings statewide in 2022.

Advocates were hoping the state legislature might provide relief, directing some of the $32 billion budget surplus into rental assistance. But that hasn't happened.

"It's a huge mistake to miss our shot here," said Ben Martin, a research director at the nonprofit Texas Housers. "If we don't address it now, the crisis is going to get worse."

Still, some pandemic protections are being made permanent and having an impact on eviction rates. Nationwide, 200 measures have passed since January 2021, including legal representation for tenants, sealing eviction records and mediation to resolve cases before they reach court, said the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

These measures are credited with keeping eviction filings down in several cities, including New York City and Philadelphia — 41% below pre-pandemic levels in May for the former and 33% for the latter.

A right-to-counsel program and the fact that housing courts aren't prosecuting cases involving rent arrears are among the factors keeping New York City filings down.

In Philadelphia, 70% of the more than 5,000 tenants and landlords who took part in the eviction diversion program resolved their cases. The city also set aside $30 million in assistance for those with less than $3,000 in arrears and started a right-to-counsel program, doubling representation rates for tenants.

The future is not so bright for Williams and his daughter, who remain stuck in their dimly-lit hotel room. Without even a microwave or nearby grocery stores, they rely on pizza deliveries and snacks from the hotel vending machine.

Williams used to love having his six grandchildren over for dinner at his old apartment, but those days are over for now.

"I just want to be able to host my grandchildren," he said, pausing to cough heavily. "I just want to live somewhere where they can come and sit down and hang out with me."

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Casey reported from Boston. AP writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed.

With unemployment filings continuing to come in, many are unsure when or if they can pay the rent. Evictions are happening across the U.S. and experts predict it could get worse.

“Most states, at this point, I would say have some sort of statewide policy in place. Although again many of those are expiring,” said Lavar Edmonds, a Research Specialist at Eviction Lab.

Edmonds is talking about evictions. As state moratoriums end, the impacts on renters and landlords are unknown.

“I would imagine you're looking at millions of households that are at risk of facing eviction in the coming months,” he said.

The Eviction Lab has a team of researchers tracking the issue. Two years ago, they published a national database of evictions based on records. Now, they are looking at how states are handling COVID-19 and evictions.

“In some places that has meant a stopping of eviction hearings,” Edmonds said. He continued to note it could also mean some places are stopping filings, others late fees, and a bunch of different rules.

More than 40 million people have filed for unemployment since COVID-19 hit the U.S. according to the U.S. Labor Department. Studies show nearly 78% of renters were able to pay their April rent in the first week of the month, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

This could be due to additional weekly payments provided by the CARES Act to those who are unemployed.

“I now am on unemployment,” Desiree Kane said. “I’m concerned about that though, because the $600 a week pandemic support ends on July 31.”

Back in March, Kane, a freelancer, found herself in a situation many others also experienced.

“Over the course of 72 hours in the middle of March, I lost 100% of my clients and leads because of COVID,” she said. “I went from living by myself to living in an apartment where we’re splitting the rent multiple ways so that its affordable. But it’s a very small apartment and a lot of people.”

Kane helped create the Colorado rent strike group on Facebook, a group calling for change with evictions and homelessness in the state. While she continues to look for a job, she fears that July 31 end date.

“They’re calling it a cliff, and I very much feel that cliff,” Kane said.

It's a cliff that landlords are also concerned about.

“I have talked to a lot of landlords though that are worried their tenants aren't going to be able to pay their rent,” said Tom Orlando, owner of real estate firm Housing Helpers. “Business slowed down quite a bit.”

While each rental situation is different, for many property owners, no rent payment means no mortgage payment.

“I do see both sides. “I feel for the tenants who have lost their jobs,” Orlando said. “It’s also unfortunate for the landlord because they need to pay their mortgage. Most landlords do have a mortgage on their properties.”

The Eviction Lab is now examining what states are doing to help. They rate states using a scorecard system.

“Essentially a state by state look at what policies states are taking to combat evictions during the pandemic,” Edmonds said.

Moving forward, the potential for evictions is unknown and varies state to state.

“In 2016, we saw somewhere around 3.7 million filings, eviction filings,” Edmonds said. “I think it’s not so much a stretch to believe we’re gonna see something comparably, if not more severely, devastating for renter households.”

CINCINNATI — The national moratorium on evictions was recently extended into this new year, to keep families suffering during the pandemic from ending up homeless.

Then why are so many renters still facing eviction?

That's what one Cincinnati woman wants to know.

Ayanna McClure got some bad news when she pulled up to her Avondale apartment one day this past fall.

Painters were taking everything out and putting in new locks.

"This is my apartment, and they changed the locks on me," she says in the Facebook video she recorded with her phone.

This health aide says she lost a month of work over the summer due to the pandemic, and had fallen behind on her rent.

"There was no way I could come up with $2,000 or $3,000," she said.

McClure, who is now staying in a local women's shelter, says she was evicted despite the CARES Act eviction moratorium.

"I guess the first day he could file for eviction, he did it," she said.

Many people facing eviction in pandemic

McClure is not alone.

Three days after Christmas, we found a sad scene in Cleves, where Amanda Barger and all her belongings had been tossed out of her rented mobile home.

"Where am I going to go now?" she asked. "I know this is a business, and you gotta pay your own way, but they could have a little kindness."

The good news for renters behind on their payments: the national moratorium on evictions under the CARES Act has been extended into the new year.

The bad news: there are many reasons why a landlord can still legally kick you out, according to Nick DiNardo of The Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati.

"Disturbing your neighbor, not keeping the apartment clean, those kinds of tenant duties, they can still proceed with eviction for these reasons," he said.

DiNardo says tenants need to know:

• The eviction moratorium is not automatic.

• The moratorium applies only to financial hardship, not eviction for damage, drug abuse, or being a nuisance.

"There are plenty of people who are being evicted right now, DiNardo said, among them, these two women.

In both cases, their landlord told us there were other reasons for their decision, besides late rent.

Finally, a landlord can still force you out at the end of your lease with 30 days' notice, for no reason at all. If you are on a month-to-month lease, he can ask you to move out after the next month if he wants to rehab or sell the building.

Facing eviction? Fill out that CDC form immediately, and present it to your landlord.

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LAS VEGAS —

Related video above: CDC extends eviction moratorium for two months

On Monday, Dasha Kelly was facing eviction and didn't know how she was going to pay her back rent. A day later, thanks to strangers, more than $170,000 has been raised so far.

On Tuesday, Kelly sat on her couch, one of the last pieces of furniture left in her apartment in Las Vegas, and was told how much money was raised. She was speechless.

"I just want to tell everybody thank you so much," Kelly said as tears ran down her face. "I'm still in denial."

Kelly was joined by her boyfriend's three daughters Sharron, 8; Kia, 6; and Imani, 5. Kelly helps take care of the children part-time. She was featured in a CNN story that aired on Monday about the federal eviction moratorium that ended this past weekend.

Last year, the 32-year-old lost her job as a card dealer when the pandemic forced casinos to shut down. She is one of the more than 11 million Americans that are behind on their rent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"I had no idea what we were going to do," Kelly said about facing eviction.

She started a GoFundMe on Monday night in hopes of raising $2,000 to cover the back rent she owed. Just 24 hours later, the campaign has raised more than $172,000 from more than 2,700 donors.

"It gave me a lot of hope," she said. "And I just want to make sure I do the best that I can to help the next person that is in my same situation."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a fresh stop on certain evictions Tuesday, saying that evicting people could be detrimental to public health and would interfere with efforts to slow the pandemic.

The new moratorium comes after President Joe Biden and his administration allowed a previous freeze to expire.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story identified the three children as Kelly's children. She has since clarified to CNN that they are the children of her boyfriend, but that she helps take care of them. CNN has also verified that GoFundMe has frozen the money until they can verify Kelly's story and no money has been withdrawn from the account.