How one of California’s cheapest cities became unaffordable: ‘the housing market is broken’

Fresno rents began to spike dramatically during the pandemic and have continued to rise, a crisis hitting low-income residents hardest

The mold in Martha Leon's home has been there as long as she has. It grows in thick mottled patterns up the wall and around the windows, clinging to baseboards, the curtains, furniture and clothing.

But Leon and her family have struggled to leave their house in Fresno, California, even though she and her two children have developed asthma. There's simply nowhere else they can afford.