Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
For years, California's Central Valley has been the site of a large number of evictions, as the wage disparity compared to other areas is wide and, since March to date, has added a number of issues stemming from COVID-19, such as unemployment.
As a result, about 300,000 people could soon lose their homes, based on initial jobless claims and the proportion of workers in businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who are renting and living in homes where there are no other sources of income, said Janine Nkosi, regional adviser for Faith in the Valley.
"If we don't have strong, robust protection so people can stay in their homes, if there's no help for mortgages and utilities and so on, we're making an estimate that 100,000 homes in the Central Valley are being vulnerable to eviction," he said.
During the panel "High eviction rates in California-Central Valley tenants bet on housing rights."by Ethnic Media ServicesThe damage goes beyond just housing, she said, because the future of families is at stake.
"Let's be clear, these are homes, not people, it's not just one person, we're talking about families, we're talking about if there are three ?people? per family, close to 300,000 people in our community, in these counties, are in a vulnerable position and are at risk of being evicted and being kicked out of their homes," he said.
He added that a recent survey conducted by the organization on the economic and housing impacts of COVID-19 found that 55 percent of residents who responded to the survey were unclear about how they would pay their rent.
The high incidence of evictions in the Central Valley is growing as businesses and enterprises close due to the number of COVID-19 positive cases and deaths from complications of the disease, making affordable housing increasingly unaffordable.
To this, the expert added that there is a great disparity in legal representation for those who decide to go to court for unjustified evictions, cases that, in a matter of minutes, are decided without a thorough review.
"For three months, we systematically observed and documented what the process is that you go through when a family member goes to court. It literally happens in minutes, it's like a merry-go-round, decisions are made in minutes, people are becoming homeless," he explained.
Nkosi referred that, in 2019, a lawyer was in charge of 643 cases on the plaintiff side; while, in the case of tenants, only six of them had an advocate.
"Across all counties, 73 percent of property owners had lawyers; renters, less than 1.0 percent. This is what happens across the country: less than 10 percent of tenants have lawyers," he said.
He noted that even in the case of those who commit a minor offence, they have the right to legal representation; however, this does not happen in the case of those who are evicted..
"Everyone should have the right to a lawyer; someone who can represent them if they find themselves in any kind of court. The courts should protect us, as should the laws, but if the person doesn't have access to a lawyer, then the law is pretty much worthless," he said.
And, he noted, California's eviction protections expire on Jan. 31, so a first solution for Californians would be to stop evictions and all foreclosures for past due rent and mortgage during and after the COVID-19 state of health emergency.
It also detailed eliminating the debt of affected tenants and providing mortgage relief, or cancellation of their debts; compensating small landlords and nonprofit organizations that need help keeping tenants housed.
Given this situation, he said it is necessary that AB15 and AB16 be tested in Congress to help thousands of families whose lives are about to change drastically, especially in a health situation as difficult as the one being experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fresno resident and mother of six, Jessica Ramirez, was evicted without notice: her lease had expired. She was given no chance to renew and was simply thrown out with her children, a situation that led her to live in her car for a long time, until she turned to Faith in the Valley.
In giving her testimony, she stressed that it is of utmost importance to help all those who today find themselves in a difficult situation to pay rent. "I advocate for the community and ask for help because I know that an eviction can change people's lives. This happened to me, I used all possible resources, but no one could help me.
She noted that the eviction will remain on her record for seven years, which will make it much more difficult for her to get a place to live with her children.
"A mother or father should not have to choose between housing or the health of their children. We are in a time of emergency where we have to help each other. Many people needed assistance before the COVID-19 contingency and now, with this crisis, people need more support. Many people have lost their jobs, prices of goods keep rising and they can't even buy essentials or food, they can't even pay their bills. If someone can help, why not do it," she said.
For senior Claude Bailey, a Stockton resident, things have not been easy. She lived in an apartment for more than 20 years and always paid on time, until suddenly she was told she had to fill out paperwork and then was told she no longer qualified to rent and was given a very short time to move out.
After his eviction, Claude moved into housing where he was treated very badly and was constantly watched, so he also decided to leave. After that, he lived for 10 months in his car.
"It was a nightmare," he said, because every time he tried to sleep, police would run him out of parking lots, thugs would try to scare him, they would steal his car parts, and he even lost weight because there wasn't even a bathroom he could go to because they wouldn't let him or would try to charge him for its use.
"I've seen people? black women, white women, Mexican women, sleeping and covering themselves with cardboard. These are older people on the street who have worked hard to raise their families, who have built this country, who have paid their taxes, and now they're on the street," she said.
He said he was a model citizen who paid his taxes, didn't drink, smoke or do drugs, and was even a member of a church; however, he said, "this can happen to anyone, not just me. Life is a circle; sometimes you're on top and the next you're on the ground, with nothing. You can only understand it when you've lived it.
It is worth noting that, until before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Valley had the second highest economic growth in the state, but also had the highest unemployment rate, the second highest rate of multiple households in a dwelling, and the third lowest homeownership rate.
This was pointed out by Edward Orozco Flores, associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Merced, who added that in the Central Valley, approximately one in four workers have lost their jobs, while almost half of all households have had some loss of employment or their income has been reduced.
In that sense, he explained that people spend 30 percent of their income on rent; however, there are those who pay 50 percent of what they receive, a situation that, in most cases, makes the housing situation unsustainable in one of the places hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
"In the Central Valley, workers are at such a low level of income that it becomes a problem, especially during the pandemic because federal policies that protect property owners are not extended to tenants. We have to renew this policy, otherwise we will witness massive evictions in the coming months," he said.
