June 18 on The Story: When they moved out of their Portland rental home in 2022, records show that the DeWitt family owed the Portland Water Bureau about $1,100. At the time, they said they didn't have the money to pay — and they knew it would go to collections. What they didn't expect was that this year, a third-party debt collector could suddenly put all of their accounts on hold, leaving them unable to access any money for food and other bills. The freeze continued for weeks, while the DeWitts picked up odd jobs for cash to scrape by. Meanwhile, the punitive nature of debt collection may be undermining the city of Portland’s own effort to keep residents housed, employed and able to meet essential needs. Watch more The Story videos: http://bit.ly/watchTheStory Follow The Story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheStoryKGW Follow The Story on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thestorykgw