Poverty in Fresno carries hidden costs

Published online on Saturday, Sep. 19, 2009

The apartments along Lowe Avenue in southeast Fresno sound like a good deal. For about $600 a month you can get two bedrooms, and bad credit won't keep you out.

But many costs aren't in the lease: Some apartments are teeming with roaches and mold, creating a veritable stew pot for illness -- and constant doctor bills. It's in a dangerous neighborhood, so costly possessions -- like stereos -- have a way of disappearing.

People live here because they are poor and can't afford anything better. But compared to those with just a little more money, they must spend an enormous share of their household incomes on rent.

The same is true across the central San Joaquin Valley and the nation: When it comes to housing, being poor is expensive.

Being poor often means not having enough money for a down payment or security deposit. Often it means having bad credit, reducing options even more.

Then there are the hidden price tags -- the cost of limited mobility, a greater likelihood of getting ripped off in any number of ways, and expensive medical bills for things like lead poisoning from old paint.

"It's costly for families, for parents, for kids and for the hospital system," said the Rev. Sharon Stanley, founder and executive director of the nonprofit social-service agency Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, or FIRM.

The main program to help people afford housing is Section 8, a federal program that works with local governments to subsidize rents. And it's overwhelmed. In Fresno County, about 13,000 households receive Section 8 vouchers worth an average of $560 per month. Another 21,000 are on the waiting list, said Preston Prince, executive director of the Fresno Housing Authorities.

Most people agree that more vouchers would help, but the underlying problem is complex. For example, agencies such as FIRM are looking for ways to improve housing without increasing rents, a daunting challenge in itself.

"It's somewhat of a Catch-22," said the Rev. Sophia DeWitt, who is involved with housing and health programs at FIRM. "It is a complicated situation, and it requires work on a lot of different fronts."

A bag of cockroaches

Ask Stanley about the cost of being poor and she whips out a plastic bag with dozens of dead cockroaches inside.

They were gathered from one apartment along Lowe Avenue.

"Every night when you turn on the light, roaches scatter," Stanley said.

The roaches, attracted to mold and moisture behind the walls, wiggle their way into the ears of young children, prompting costly midnight visits to the emergency room, she said. Families sleep with the lights on, not because they fear the bogeyman, but because they fear pests.

The bag of roaches came from an apartment where FIRM was conducting an assessment as part of a program to identify substandard housing and organize help. The task is difficult, because families often won't ask for help, or shun it.

Many are afraid of being evicted, having rents raised or being ratted out to immigration authorities, advocates say.

Stanley knows firsthand the struggles that low-income families can face when it comes to housing. More than 13 years ago, she moved into an apartment in southeast Fresno, where she initially paid $385 per month. While she lived there, her car stereo was stolen three times.

Then the rent rose to more than $600 when a new landlord bought the building and started to make improvements. Stanley had good credit, and even on a meager pastor's pay, she was able to buy a condominium a few blocks away, however. Her monthly payment is less than $700, even with homeowners association fees.