A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS MOTHER, DAUGHTER LEAN ON CITY SERVICES.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SAUGUS - Julia Bosinger's small trailer shudders and creaks with each strong gust that blows through Bouquet Canyon, but the drafts no longer chill the inside.

``This house was Swiss cheese when I first moved in,'' said Bosinger, 42, who swelled with pride as she pointed out the cracks she's repaired using caulk and quick-dry foam.

Bosinger, who lived on the streets of Van Nuys just four years ago, is grateful she'd shed homelessness with the help of local charities and social service providers.

But she admits that every day brings the fear that some slight misfortune could push her and her 3-year-old daughter back into a transient life.

``Scared to death,'' she said. ``I can't afford to stay in Santa Clarita. I don't have much to live on. Santa Clarita's services have kept me from being homeless.''

Bosinger is among the estimated 10,000 people in Santa Clarita who are teetering on the brink of homelessness. Although 2000 census figures peg the city's median household income at $76,900, about 6.7 percent of residents are living in poverty.

``They tend to be the ones in the lower end of the economic spectrum,'' said Laura Morefield, board president of the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. ``For Santa Clarita, that's about $12,000 or less for one person per year.''

The pantry, which typically serves about 1,800 people a month, has seen a 7 percent increase in clients each year for the last three years.

``Some are permanently disabled,'' Morefield said. ``We have mostly the working poor - people who are working one or two minimum-wage jobs. We have single mothers, some single dads.

``We catch people who have been laid off, and we have some seniors who are on fixed incomes.''

Seniors are among the fastest-growing segment. About 120 are served each month, and their numbers have increased about 8 percent a year.

Bosinger is talkative as she describes her childhood growing up in the San Fernando Valley. When she was in her 20s, she said, she left home and stayed with friends, working odd jobs and using drugs.

She didn't know it at the time, but she was also suffering from bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. She said she is seeking help for her conditions from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, but is unable to work because of them.

``I did not know I was sick,'' she said. ``I thought I was the only one like me. ... Up until four years ago, I was sick with my disease, and I got used to it. I didn't know what normal was.''

Bosinger receives about $1,000 a month in federal disability and child- care assistance. She spends more than half on rent, the rest on household expenses.

``Without (the food pantry), for the first week of each month, we wouldn't eat,'' she said.

The pantry also has milk for daughter Phoenix, who turns 4 next month.

``We're big proponents of giving milk,'' Morefield said. ``Half of our clients are kids. Half of that are grade school or younger.

``No child in the Santa Clarita Valley should go to bed hungry. We're committed to feeding children and a way to do that is through their families.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Julia Bosinger, 42, and her daughter, Phoenix Bare, 3, live in a trailer in a remote area off Bouquet Canyon in Saugus and rely on food assistance.

(2 -- color) Phoenix Bare, her stocking ready next to a small Christmas tree, looks out the window of the trailer she shares with her mother.

(3) Julia Bosinger pours her daughter a drink in their tiny trailer home. The two live off Bosinger's disability checks.

(4) Phoenix Bare draws on the floor of the area of the family's trailer that serves as the living room.

David Crane/Staff Photographer