By Marinee Zavala 
Once again, minorities are the bottom rung in San Diego’s economy, with Latinos and African-Americans living the highest levels of poverty.
In its last census, the Center on Policy Initiatives reported that 23.4 percent of Latinos/Hispanics in San Diego suffer extreme poverty and a lack of opportunities, as well as 21.8 percent of African-Americans and other communities of color, making them the two groups with the lowest household incomes. This is a big contrast with the 10.8 percent of Whites in San Diego County who face the same situation according to the Report.
Time has not helped either. Although the great recession suffered in the U.S. in 2007 was overcome in much of the country beginning in June of 2009, the most recent report published by the Center on Policy Initiatives reveals that 15 percent of the overall population live under the 2015 Federal poverty level, which is an average of $12,082 a year for as single person, or $24,036 for a family of four.
“Poverty and household income have not shown any significant improvements; in fact, most families are in a worse situation now than before the recession,” stated Jessica Cordova, spokesperson for the Center on Policy Initiatives in San Diego.
During the recession, more than 352,362 San Diego residents lived financial difficulties; however, by 2015 those numbers had actually increased by 31.7 percent overall. Today, more than 432,203 people live in dire financial situations.
Thousands of families, particularly low income families, currently struggle to pay the average $1,200+ rents and provide a good quality of life for their children.
Women such as Rosa Lopez, who works cleaning homes, suffer due to having to share their home with strangers in order to barely be able to cover their share of rent and basic needs.
“I am a single mother; I work 365 days a year and I have no days off. Sometimes we have to work at three different jobs so we never see our kids,” said Lopez.
“Nearly 16 percent of San Diego households are living below the Federal poverty level; these would struggle even if they lived in the poorest parts of the U.S., such as Mississippi or Alabama,” said Kyra Greene, Deputy Director of the Center on Policy Initiatives. “Such low incomes make it incredibly difficult to survive in a city as expensive as San Diego. Families have to make near-impossible decisions and sacrifices just to survive.”
POOR UNDERAGE LATINOS
The San Diego census did not show better results in the case of Latino minors; 40 percent of them live difficult economic situations.
The number of children suffering poverty, according to this Study, has increased to 38.7 percent since 2007, when 100,897 children lived economic difficulties, even if they lived with their parents. Today, the number of children suffering the consequences of poverty in their daily lives has increased to over 105,446.
Even more worrisome, stated Jessica Cordova, is how little attention public agencies are paying to the issue of having more children have access to food and healthcare.
“When children lack access to food and healthcare, it affects their growth and has long-term effects. These funds are provided by the state and managed by the county; in our research we have seen that the county is not doing enough so that children can have access to these services,” said Cordova.
The Institute’s research studies indicate that the best solution would be better policies that can effectively help the people suffering extreme poverty in San Diego, in spite of earning twice the Federal Minimum Wage. The ideal situation would be to create better-paying jobs, better working conditions, and basic services specifically for the communities in need.