When a family cannot afford housing, it is not simply a housing problem — it is a failure to secure dignity, which also includes essentials such as food and childcare. According to the Ventura County Regional
Consolidated Plan, the median household income required to rent a two-bedroom apartment is about $115,200 per year. If a family dreams of buying a house, the income needed to afford a median-priced home is $228,800 per year.
MIT’s Living Wage Calculator provides living-wage estimates, typical family expenses and occupation-specific wages for U.S. states and counties. MIT’s latest 2026 data put the basic cost of living for one adult with two children in Ventura County at $157,127 a year before taxes. Few jobs typically reach that level. What about everyone else? The problem isn’t limited to single parents; it is an affordability gap affecting families across occupations and household types. And because most single parents are mothers, persistent gender wage gaps make the burden even heavier.
California, like many other states, provides entitlements that allow families and individuals to receive federal and state government assistance when income falls below set levels. Access to the essentials of housing, food and childcare is a human right, and it is hard to accept that California, the fourth-largest economy globally, can deny most of its residents their basic human rights.
Ventura County has extensive federal and state childcare entitlements, but an entitlement on paper does not make childcare affordable. Research by the Center for Economics of Social Issues (CESI) at California Lutheran University estimates that these programs can reach 55% of children, with an estimated benefit of $129 million. Meanwhile, many parents cut other expenses to pay for childcare because, without it, they cannot work and support their families.
We face the same tragedy with California’s SNAP Program (food assistance). In 2024, the reach index (the proportion of those who received their entitled benefits) was only 78.7%. This meant more than $44 million was left unused while some county residents faced food insecurity.
Housing is the biggest source of our collective suffering in Ventura County and across California. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is the federal government's primary program that helps low-income families, older adults and individuals with disabilities afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Generally, in order to qualify, a family's income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live.
According to 2024 data, only 9.2% of those entitled in Ventura County used their housing vouchers, so more than $1.2 billion went unused. Meanwhile, thousands of families struggle to make ends meet, and many spend 50% or more of their income and endure overcrowding and other hardships to secure housing.
What is the root of the problem, and how can it be solved?
The problem is the gap between having a right on paper and having the infrastructure — the system of people, organizations, facilities, rules and resources — needed to turn a promise into something people can actually use.
For housing, we need to acquire existing housing rather than wait to build with funds allocated by local government and foundations. Create a social-housing acquisition fund. Convert existing public land into a housing pipeline. Continue rental assistance for families who need immediate help but direct a portion of public resources to acquiring and preserving units where voucher recipients live. Build institutional capacity for social housing now. Use meaningful rent caps to support families in need and avoid creating too many loopholes that some, particularly large corporations, can exploit to increase their share of rental housing.
For food assistance, we need to make enrollment automatic or nearly automatic. Reduce paperwork, unnecessary documentation, repeated interviews and complicated recertification procedures. Bring enrollment to where people are. Expand access to participating food retailers, especially small retailers. Coordinate food assistance with other benefits. Governments should regularly identify how many eligible households are not receiving benefits and determine why.
We need to create universal, high-quality early childhood education; let Ventura County lead the region by pursuing it. The Santa Paula Isabella project, supported by the Ventura County Community Foundation and committed community partners, has generated valuable knowledge. Its community-engagement experience provides a strong foundation for taking this effort countywide.
Housing, food and childcare are essential infrastructure for a dignified life and a productive economy. Investing in them is an investment in good jobs today and shared prosperity tomorrow.
Jamshid Damooei, Ph.D., is a professor and executive director of the Center for Economics of Social Issues (CESI) at California Lutheran University. For more information on the comprehensive study, check out “California’s Housing Crisis: Roots of the Problem and What Lies Ahead.”
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Affordability is the foundation of a dignified life | Your Turn
