Foreclosure Crisis Taking Toll on Public Health

"The foreclosure crisis is causing more problems than lost homes, it also is deteriorating the health of individuals and communities, according to [a new report released by Just Cause Oakland].

Oakland has been hit hard by the country's foreclosure crisis. In East and West Oakland, nearly 10 percent of homes have been in the process of foreclosure this past year - and the city's African-American and Latino residents have been the hardest hit. On top of single-family homes that have been foreclosed, nearly 20 percent of all properties facing foreclosures are rentals, leaving many more families scrambling.

According to the county's public health department and housing advocacy groups, all of this is leading to a decline in public health, including increased stress, blight in the community and children having to be uprooted from schools."