“My reward only comes from God. Nobody here can pay me for it.” –Myser Keels
To city leaders, Myser Keels was once quoted as saying “You better get used to seeing me, because I'm going to be here.” This statement was not surprising to anyone who had the honor of meeting him, because he was there. He was there to fight towards bringing the Social Security Administration building back to West Fresno.
FWCED’s service area is Southwest Fresno, which is located near downtown Fresno. As our data informs us,[1] residents of West Fresno represent a departure from the economic and ethnic composition of the City of Fresno.
Ethnicity With a 96.7% concentration of minority groups, our service area is almost exclusively populated by Blacks (34.95%), Hispanics (51.94%), and Asians (9.81%). The population breakdown is markedly different from the City of Fresno's general ethnic composition: Black (7.5%), Hispanic (35.8%), and Asian (9.4%).
Age According to the latest census figures, the median age for the West Fresno residents is 26.6 years. Children under 5 account for 3,237 of the residents living in the area (Table 1). Males ages 18 years and over account for 32.1% of the total population, with females following closely at 31.2%. Fifty percent of the residents in this community are between 21 and 65 years of age.
Educational attainment The West Fresno population lags far behind in educational attainment compared to Fresno County and the State. Nearly one-fifth of West Fresno residents age 25 and older have no education (16%) and only 21% have attended Kindergarten through eighth grade. Twenty-six percent of adults in West Fresno are High School dropouts and only 30% have completed their High School diploma or its equivalent, the GED. In Fresno County, only 32% of residents face this dilemma and 23% in the state of California. Only 4% of the population has a two-year college degree and 3% has a four-year college degree. In comparison, Income U.S. Census 2000 data reveal that West Fresno residents fare much worse than their County or State counterparts with regard to income. Whereas the median family income in California is an enjoyable $53,025, it is only $19,478 for West Fresno families. This figure is almost half the median family income that residents in Fresno County earn ($38,445). Unemployment Civilian unemployment in West Fresno (23.5%) is higher than downtown Fresno (18.9%) and Fresno County (11.8%), and three times greater than California (7%). Broken down by ethnicity, Asians experience the highest unemployment (31.7%), followed by Whites (25.1%), Hispanics (24.6%), and African Americans (21.8%).
Poverty The economic picture for the area is bleak with approximately 38.9% of West Fresno residents living in poverty and 43% of households reporting public assistance income.[3] Relief does not seem to be anywhere in sight as income projections predict a $4,500 increase in Fresno County's median income, but only a $400 increase in the median incomes of residents in West Fresno. The miniscule projected income growth of 9% will do little to raise the per capita income in West Fresno ($6,526). This amount is 45% lower than the per capita income projections for Fresno County and 60% lower than the state.
City of Fresno Map- Poverty by Census Tract. Click to Download (1.77 MB)
Housing The West Fresno community is one of the oldest in the county and urban decay is visible in vacant, dilapidated buildings that once housed businesses that failed or relocated to areas with better economic profiles. Its residents have as their home a deteriorating, distressed urban community that has frequently received attention for its poverty, high crime rate, high unemployment and welfare dependency. Federal Housing Authority data reveal that in West Fresno only 38% of residents are homeowners. In the County and State, home ownership is 56% and 57%, respectively. An estimated 54% of the residents live in rental units, with an average household size of 4. In units that are occupied by owners, the average household size is 3. It has often been said of foreign countries that women and children bear the name of poverty, but this also rings true in West Fresno. Of the total number of women who are householders with no husband present (2,338) in the 93706 zip code, 42% live with children under the age of 18.
Health West Fresno residents have limited resources to health care. For decades, the region has housed only one building where health care services are provided -- despite some of the grim health conditions experienced by residents. Birth and death record data from the California Department of Health Services reveal that West Fresno has some of the highest rates of infant mortality (15.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) compared to the downtown population (8.7/1,000), Fresno County (7.2/1,000), and the state of California (5.4/1,000). In 1998, the California Department of Health Services documented that 41.2% of all births lacked prenatal care before the second trimester and that 24.2% of births were to mothers under the age of 20, twice the statewide rate. Further, they noted that approximately 80,000 health screenings were needed for children ages 0-5. Several years later, the statistics do not differ greatly.
