Thousands of people in Fresno County are evicted from their homes every year. It’s a misconception that failing to pay rent is the only reason people are evicted, according to a study just released by the organization Faith in the Valley in partnership with Fresno State and Central California Legal Services. Evicted in Fresno: Facts for Housing Advocates used different sets of data and court records to find out how much money tenants owe in rent on average, the reasons people are evicted, what percentage of tenants have legal representation, and what parts of Fresno have a higher concentration of evictions and why.
Listen to the above interview to hear more about what researchers found. Reporter Monica Velez spoke with Dr. Amber Crowell, a sociology professor at Fresno State, Patience Milrod, executive director of Central California Legal Services, and Dr. Janine Nkosi, a sociology professor at Fresno State and regional organizer for Faith in the Valley.