List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jan. 27, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
“Living Dangerously” explores the health and safety perils of crowded housing in some of Orange County’s poorest neighborhoods. In the article, I showed that everything from increased exposure to asthma triggers to sexual assaults on children are the direct result of highly congested apartments shared among acquainances and strangers. As I state in my article, it’s not unusual for immigrants to live under crowded conditions with extended family; now however, people are increasingly living with strangers, as a result of financial desperation and the high rents of Orange County. While local media have reported on crowding on the rare occasion, the issue has generally been covered as a nuisance — due to parking, trash and crime problems. My intention was to examine crowded housing among low-income immigrant communities as a public health issue.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
I used the U.S. Census website to obtain data on crowding. I also used the Internet to research housing codes and journal articles about immigrant housing conditions. No FOI request.
Explain types of human sources used.
I talked to people who reside in highly congested apartments and have faced health and safety threats as a result. I also interviewed experts in public health, affordable housing and the local real estate market, as well as community organizers and grassroots activists. Finally, I learned that a Latino meat market had a bulletin board for people seeking to share apartments with strangers and I found contacts to interview there about their living arrangements.
Results:
Because people in Orange County who live in highly congested housing are hidden from view — often due to language barriers and fear of immigration authorities — this article brought an ignored problem into the spotlight.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections, though some copy edits and a minor headline change. (Because Voice of OC copy edits after posting the story)
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
When dealing with immigrant communities, expect to be rebuffed. Be persistant, win over community leaders (though they won’t hand you sources; you still have to find them), and know the language — even if you speak it imperfectly.