Family facing eviction stays home for holidaysThursday, December 24, 2009 The Cosio family's apartment in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood is small but homey. A Christmas tree illuminates the living room. Several presents lie underneath, ready for Christmas morning.
MORE BAY AREA NEWSThe apartment could have been empty now, or occupied by others, if not for the generosity of strangers, including Chronicle readers who have contributed to the Season of Sharing. Daniel Cosio, 35, is living proof of the impact of the recession. He was making a six-figure salary as a systems engineering consultant to a high-tech firm when he was laid off one year ago. Cosio is a skilled tech professional. How hard could it have been to get another full-time job? Very hard, it turned out. With thousands of jobless computer experts in a state with a 12.3 percent unemployment rate, competition for the few available jobs was stiff. Cosio, born and raised in the Excelsior, has had several interviews. "I go to the interviews, and sometimes you see stacks of 15 or 20 resumes on the desk," he said. "It's not like before. After the dot-com bust in 2000, you were able to find jobs." Weeks without a job turned into months. Cosio's wife, Flora, is a stay-at-home mom to their children, Melanie, who turns 6 on New Year's Day, and 5-year-old Damian. Both are in kindergarten. As a contractor, Cosio got no severance and had to pay for his own health insurance. The family quickly blew through its savings and, by September, after paying for school vaccines and supplies, the Cosios did not have enough money for rent. By November, they were three months behind when the landlord delivered an eviction notice. Cosio turned to the nonprofit Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco. The organization was able to provide the Cosios a no-interest loan for some of their back rent and guided them to the Season of Sharing, which provided the rest. Cosio was able to settle with his landlord and stay in his apartment, and is grateful for the help. Although his family could have stayed with friends had they been evicted, his children would have been uprooted from their school. Amy Price of the Eviction Defense Collaborative said she has seen an increasing number of people who worked in white-collar jobs coping with unemployment. Cosio, she said, "was used to having money. This was a new experience for him. We deal with people who are high risk and in crisis a lot of the time. They're used to being in that state. He clearly was not." Cosio knows he is not alone. He said many friends and colleagues, professionals with master's degrees and doctorates, were unable to find work and were threatened with losing their homes. Throughout a year of being mostly unemployed, Cosio has had to stay strong for his family - and himself. "I'm just trying to stay busy and not get depressed," he said. "I have friends who got really depressed. I don't want to get sucked into that." Cosio does not see a thaw in the job market yet, but he has picked up some contract work. With his salary, plus unemployment benefits and wiser budgeting, he said he will be able to make his rent each month in the new year. About the fundDonations to The Chronicle's Season of Sharing fund help thousands of people in the Bay Area throughout the year. Assistance is in the form of grants paid directly to the supplier, such as a landlord. Individuals cannot receive direct grants. For more information, visit www.seasonofsharing.org. E-mail Henry Schulman at hschulman@sfchronicle.com. |
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