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.
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.