In this May 14, 2018, photo, two young boys walk across the grass of the Bridgeview Village Apartments in Charleston, S.C. A new data analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities shows that tenants in Charleston receiving housing assistance could see the second-highest average annual increase in the United States under a new proposal by HUD Secretary Ben Carson to raise rents for millions of low-income households. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
In this May 14, 2018, photo, two young boys walk across the grass of the Bridgeview Village Apartments in Charleston, S.C. A new data analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities shows that tenants in Charleston receiving housing assistance could see the second-highest average annual increase in the United States under a new proposal by HUD Secretary Ben Carson to raise rents for millions of low-income households. (AP Photo/Robert Ray) Credit: ap file photograph

Charleston, s.c. — Housing Secretary Ben Carson says his latest proposal to raise rents would mean a path toward self-sufficiency for millions of low-income households across the United States by pushing more people to find work. For Ebony Morris and her four small children, it could mean homelessness.

Morris lives in Charleston, where most households receiving federal housing assistance would see rents rise an average 26 percent, according to an analysis done by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for The Associated Press.

Her increase would be nearly double that.

Overall, the analysis shows that in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, low-income tenants — many of whom have jobs — would have to pay roughly 20 percent more each year for rent under the plan. That’s about six times greater than the growth in average hourly earnings, putting poor workers at an increased risk of homelessness because wages haven’t kept pace with housing expenses.

“I saw public housing as an option to get on my feet, to pay 30 percent of my income and get myself out of debt and eventually become a homeowner,” said Morris, whose rent would jump to $600 from $403. “But this would put us in a homeless state.”

Roughly 4 million low-income households receiving HUD assistance would be affected by the proposal. HUD estimates that about 2 million would be affected immediately, while the other 2 million would see rent increases phased in after six years.

The proposal, which needs congressional approval, is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to scale back the social safety net, under the belief that being less generous will prompt those receiving federal assistance to enter the workforce. “It’s our attempt to give poor people a way out of poverty,” Carson said in a recent interview with Fox News.

At an event in Detroit on Thursday, Carson said the proposal is a product of budget constraints. He said that the plan could change based on funding for the agency, adding that HUD already has begun working with Congress.

“The reason that we had to even consider rent increases is because we’re working with a specific budget,” Carson said. “And in order not to have to raise rents on the elderly and the disabled or to displace people who are already in programs, that was the only option.”