The steep rise in housing prices and rents and the lack of affordable housing for low and moderate income wage earners has a ripple effect throughout Marin County. Before and after school support by faculty and support personnel for academics and sports is dwindling as more and more employees head for home at the last bell to beat the commute.
Renters live at the mercy of landlords.
Businesses struggle to fill job vacancies and often complete a hire only after convincing the job prospects their best bet is to commute up Highway 101 to places like Windsor in Sonoma County. Other businesses have abandoned plans to expand in Marin or have abandoned Marin altogether. A count by a Marin housing agency earlier this year showed 2,698 households, with 5,100 children, were homeless and another 4,266 households on the brink. Housing costs are making retail clerical help scarce, resulting in long lines at grocery store checkout counters and little help in the malls. Non profit organizations report difficulty in recruiting personnel for traditionally low paying jobs.