Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, looks out from the front door of her grandmother’s home as her mother, brother and grandmother scream at one another just days after Bre-Anna’s family was evicted from their home on Thursday, April 1, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. She desperately wanted to keep her family together after the eviction. Exacerbated by the economic uncertainty of the pandemic, millions of people like Bre are teetering on the edge of crisis. In Fresno County alone, more than 650 families have been forced out of their homes since the coronavirus took hold last year, despite a federal eviction moratorium.
The Valenzuela’s were already living pay check to pay check when eviction notices started appearing on their door, addressed to somebody else. They were sure there was a mistake. All over the state people like the Valenzuela’s are in danger of losing their homes. In Fresno County, more than 650 families have been forced out of their homes since the coronavirus took hold, despite a federal eviction moratorium. Finally one morning the sheriff’s arrived and kicked the Valenzuela's out.
Bre-Anna, who goes by Bre watched as her family had nowhere to go. At only 10-years old she understood her family’s fragility — how they had been teetering on the edge of crisis for years and how the eviction could upend them. Her mother Danetta was sick, terminally ill with kidney disease and congestive heart failure. Her grandmother, Sharon, who lived a few miles away often stayed with them, watching Bre while Danetta was on dialysis. Bre’s father Brian was unable to work after a bad car accident. He fixed up bikes for cash and they lived off of his unemployment.
“Grandma, look at my house! I’m gonna make it look pretty”, Bre-Anna Valenzuela,10, exclaimed after building a “house” out of U-Haul boxes in front of her grandmothers house days after being evicted from her home on Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Fresno, California.
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, climbs into a window as her grandmother Sharon Valenzuela (left) guides her and mother Danetta Valenzuela sits on the porch a day after being evicted from their home on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Anna snuck back into the house through an open window to grab cereal for breakfast. She went back in again to open the door so they could put their empty cereal bowls in the sink.
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, looks through a box of her “stuffies” after being evicted from her home a day earlier on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre-Anna had snuck back into the house through an open window to collect a few of her favorite belongings.
The Valenzuela's dog named Little Mama is fenced into the back yard of their grandmother's home in Fresno, California on April 6, 2021. The dog who was only 1-years-old was confused by its new surroundings and constantly trying to escape.
Danetta Valenzuela breaks down in tears after realizing her husband gave her the wrong key to the storage unit where she was trying to recover some of her belongings on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Fresno, California.
Brian Valenzuela takes a cigarette break on the U-Haul truck after retrieving belongings from the house he was evicted from with his family on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in Fresno, California.
(L-r) Bre-Anna Valenzuela,10, her mom Danetta Valenzuela and brother PJ Valenzuela, 14, walk to the bus stop after visiting with PJ’s newborn baby on Thursday, April 1, 2021 in Fresno, California. Bre's 14-year-old brother PJ had a baby the same morning they were evicted from their home.
Larry Meza, a good friend of Brian Valenzuela's (not pictured) lays on the couch in the home the Valenzuela's were evicted from after sneaking in with Brian to grab a few belongings on April 7, 2021. Larry desperately wanted to help Brian stay in his home but didn't know what he could do.
A bouquet of dried roses that Brian Valenzuela gave to his wife Danetta Valenzuela on their thirteenth wedding anniversary sits on cabinet before they are removed from the home along with their other possessions after they were evicted on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in Fresno, California.
A view of the palm trees from East Princeton Avenue, directly outside the home the Valenzuela's were evicted from on March 31, 2021. Bre would walk to the fence in her front yard to watch the sunset. She loved to watch the three palm trees down the street against the warm spray of colors in the sky. Before the sky went dark, a seam of yellow glistened on the horizon. Bre liked to think it was the sun arriving in other places.
Bre Valenzuela sleeps in a bed at Motel 6 as the television is still on, on April 1, 2021. They were only able to stay at the motel for about a week before they ran out of money.
The home that the Valenzuela’s were evicted from is seen a week after they removed their belongings on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the Valenzuela family has been fractured.
(L-r) Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, sits on the front of her mother Danetta Valenzuela’s wheelchair while her grandmother Sharon Valenzuela trails behind as they leave the Motel 6 to grab breakfast on Thursday, March 25, 2021 in Fresno, California. The Valenzuela’s were evicted from their home a few days prior.
(L-r) Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, stands outside her room at the Motel 6 after her family was evicted from their home a few days prior on Thursday, March 25, 2021 in Fresno, California.
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, plays with her dolls at a Motel 6 the day after being evicted from her home on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California
The stress of the eviction shattered the family. After a week at a Motel 6 they had run out of money. Brian and Bre were staying with her grandmother Sharon and Danetta was staying with extended family. With options dwindling Danetta decided they would move to Alabama where her mother lived. When Danetta told Brian she wanted to move he refused. He didn’t want to leave Fresno and worried that Danetta would die on the road. She had already missed several dialysis appointments. Bre watched as her parents began to argue and then separate. She was left with the difficult decision of which parent to go with. The fighting escalated when Danetta’s mother showed up to bring Bre back to Alabama. Bre told her mother she wasn’t leaving. Danetta went alone, figuring they'd follow shortly after. But two days into the road trip to Alabama Danetta died of a heart attack. Bre and Brian's future is uncertain.
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, lays on her grandmothers bed after being evicted from her home on Saturday, April 10, 2021 in Fresno, California
Danetta Valenzuela is helped by emergency medical professionals responding to her trouble breathing on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. The paramedics wedged a gurney between the two beds in her motel room, gently transferring Danetta onto it before taking her to the hospital. “Do you need help getting your feet up?” one of the emergency responders asked. “Let me just make sure you don’t fall off the back.” “I’m trying,” Danetta said. “It hurts.” Danetta suffers from kidney disease and congestive heart failure and has missed many dialysis appointments since being evicted from her home.
Sharon Valenzuela wraps her arms around granddaughter Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, as they spend time outside the home they had been evicted from a day earlier on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. Bre-Anna loved watching the sunset from the front yard of her home. She said her favorite memory was having a picnic with her mom Danetta on the lawn and watching the sunset.
(L-r) Bre-Anna Valenzuela,10, and her grandmother Sharon Valenzuela retreat from the kitchen as a mouse scrambles under the sink at her grandmothers house on Monday, April 5, 2021 in Fresno, California.
Brian Valenzuela begins to yell “Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of my yard.” at his in-laws as they ask where his daughter Bre-Anna (not pictured) is, in hopes to have her come with them to Alabama on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. Since being evicted from their home, the immediate family has been fractured. With no local housing option big enough for the three of them, Danetta wanted to move back home to Alabama. It was cheaper there, she reasoned, and her mother and stepfather still lived in the area. She was too sick to be houseless. But Brian wanted to stay in Fresno. He was also convinced that Danetta was too ill to survive the journey. Bre was left with the difficult decision of whether to choose to go with her mother or stay with their father.
After being evicted from her home, Fresno Officer T.Miller (right) checks in on Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, as her parents fight for her custody outside her grandmother’s home on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the Valenzuela family has been fractured. Bre-Anna’s mother Danetta wants her to move with her to Alabama but she doesn’t want to leave Fresno without her father Brian.
Mother Danetta Valenzuela (left) and grandmother Pat Hopkins (center) try to convince Bre-Anna Valenzuela to move with them to Alabama after the Valenzuela’s were evicted from their home on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. Danetta reached for her daughter’s arm, trying to pull her into the truck. Bre jumped back and tried to say she wasn't going with her — but found herself choking up. “You’re never going to see me again,” Danetta said. She sounded angry. “You’ll never see me again.” Bre shouted back, “I hate you,”
Danetta Valenzuela hunches over unable to breathe properly after getting snacks for her road trip to Alabama on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Fresno, California. Since being evicted from their home, the Valenzuela family has been fractured. Danetta wanted the family to move to Alabama but her husband Brian refused to go. Danetta ended up leaving her children and husband behind in hopes of a more stable life.
Bre-Anna Valenzuela, 10, hugs her father Brian Valenzuela during a tense moment at her grandparents home where she has been staying on Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Fresno, California, USA. Bre-Anna’s mother Danetta wanted her to move with her to Alabama but she didn’t want to leave Fresno without her father Brian. Danetta decided to leave regardless and ended up dying on the road of a heart attack. Bre-Anna and Brian are still grieving her loss. They plan to scatter her ashes next year.