pened that while using the bathroom one morning at a fast-food restaurant, one of the employees told her to go see Medina. “I enrolled the kids
least she’s not living out in her Suburban. She’s a sin- gle mom trying to make ends meet. She works in one of the factories out in Otay Mesa. She’s also
None of the families are willing to speak with me. They fear eviction.
immediately. I got them school uniforms,” Medina remembers. “The mother got resources to stay at a hotel. She started work right away.” The family is still con-
sidered homeless, because six kids live in one small trailer. Medina says, “At
very grateful that her life has changed in a positive way.... When she first came, she was a wreck. Not only did she have to look after her kids all by herself, but she was left with nothing.” Next, Medina stops to
fill up her truck with gas RESEARCH STUDIES
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at the Mobil. The station is next to Interstate 5 and the Frontier Inn, a motel whose pink and yellow paint has faded. Green vines crawl up the front of the building, unable to reach the second floor. A sign announces “Mexi- can Insurance.” Medina explains that San Ysidro has approximately 15 motels, which often func- tion as last-resort shelters. With the high cost of rents in this area — a one-bed- room averages $1100 per month — living in a motel for months or even years is often cheaper. The largest challenge
families face when liv- ing in motels is eviction. When Medina first started the job, she would advo- cate for her families by talking to the managers. One motel in particu- lar was run down and infested with mice.
unit has a long waiting list. What’s more, in 2012 Casa Familiar wanted to add 33 affordable-housing units to the area, but the San Diego Housing Com- mission wouldn’t approve the $1.5 million necessary to fund the project. Medina drives me
Rachel wouldn’t let me see inside the motel room she occupies with her nine children, but I smelled the odor of diapers and too many bodies in one room.
“Our kids were com-
plaining about having cockroaches sleep on them. When I went to go speak with the manager, the family was evicted the next day.”
UCSD is looking for: Pregnant and Postpartum Women, Women with PMS and Menopausal Women
who are experiencing mood disturbances or depression for a non-medication sleep and light intervention.
Women NOT using hormonal birth control, hormone replacement therapy, antidepressants and some other prescription drugs may qualify.
Compensation up to $600 will be provided 619-543-7393 Medina doesn’t con-
tact the managers any- more. “Because if they lose that room, then they have nowhere else to go.” She explains that
along with the lack of affordable housing, San Ysidro lacks a home- less shelter. The non- profit organization Casa Familiar, which serves the San Ysidro community, offers one transitional three-bedroom apart- ment for families. They can use the unit for up to three months to stabilize themselves without pay- ing rent. However, the
to one of the motels, the Gateway Inn, located one block away from the traf- fic-glutted port of entry. The trolley passes by the motel frequently, carry- ing approximately 11,000 northbound passengers each day. Last August, the Gateway Inn handed all occupants termina- tion notices. The owner had submitted a request to the City of San Diego to demolish the two-story hotel. About 20 children lived there. When I knocked,
a boy opened the door only a crack. He closed it again, and I waited. Then Rachel slid out, refusing to let me see inside, but I already smelled the odor of diapers and too many bodies in one room. Rachel, a mother of
nine children, has lived at the Gateway Inn for three years. She has long brown hair and tired eyes. She explains that her husband, a construc-
-2 Study may be able to help. The primary purpose of this study is
to evaluate weight gain in adults 18 to 55 with schizophrenia taking an investigational medication in comparison to adults taking olanzapine. To learn more about this clinical research study, talk to your doctor or call this participating study site in your area:
Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital Clinical Research Center Please call 858-836-8350 or visit
www.sharp.com/clinicaltrials
22 San Diego Reader February 23, 2017
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