Bramson: Finding common ground in Silicon Valley

Megan lives in a small apartment in San Jose that costs her more than $2,850 a month. She shares it with her two kids and elderly mother. Rent eats up nearly 80% of her monthly income — and that’s when her hours at work don’t get cut. Every first of the month, she holds her breath, wondering if this is the month she’ll fall short.

In Santa Clara County, Megan’s story isn’t rare. It’s the rule. The impossible cost of living here has quietly become one of the most devastating public emergencies we face. And the worst part? We treat it like background noise. As if it’s normal for families to spend more than half their income just trying to stay housed.

More than 50,000 extremely low-income renters in Santa Clara County don’t have access to an affordable home. And the options available are either unaffordable or nonexistent. A family of four making under $45,000 a year is expected to compete in a rental market where the average apartment goes for more than $3,000 a month. Do the math — it doesn’t add up.

We’ve made some progress over the past few years with successful efforts by our government partners. But it’s not enough. Every affordable home that opens has a line out the door, and for every person who gets in, dozens are still couch surfing, sleeping in cars or one missed paycheck away from losing their home.

And this isn’t just about housing. It’s about survival. When you’re paying three-quarters of your income to your landlord, there’s nothing left for health care. Nothing left for groceries. Nothing left for car repairs, school clothes or emergencies. People aren’t “living” here anymore — they’re just trying not to drown.

And now, just when families are hanging on by a thread, here come the federal cuts.

Proposed reductions to Medicaid and food stamps could devastate our most vulnerable residents. That means fewer health services, reduced food assistance and more bureaucratic barriers for people who already can’t catch a break. It’s a cruel twist of the knife: asking people who can’t even afford rent to do more with even less.

In Santa Clara County, more than 400,000 people rely on Medi-Cal. Many of them are the same folks struggling to pay rent. If these cuts move forward, we’ll see even more pressure on our hospitals, more people skipping care and more preventable crises that turn into costly emergencies. We’ve already seen the government and nonprofit partners begin cutting jobs and services in response to the budget gap. That’s the warning light.

It’s not just bad policy — it’s dangerous.

But what’s happening at the federal level doesn’t excuse our own local dysfunction. While Congress plays chicken with the safety net, we are stuck in the same loop — arguing over process while families suffer in silence. Every time we stall an affordable housing project because of neighborhood opposition, we’re making a decision. Every time we delay rent relief or emergency assistance, we’re choosing politics over people.

We can’t afford this anymore. Not with thousands living on the edge of eviction. Not with families like Megan’s choosing between rent and everything else.

What we need now is common ground. That means:

• Doubling down on affordable housing construction, even when it’s politically difficult.
• Expanding rental assistance and homelessness prevention services before families end up outside.
• Using local dollars to fill federal gaps, especially for housing and health care programs.
• Building cross-sector coalitions that bring together government, nonprofits and the private sector to address this crisis with the urgency it demands.

None of this is about charity. It’s about stability. It’s about smart, preventative investment that saves us money down the line and makes our communities stronger. Every eviction avoided, every unit of affordable housing built, every tenant kept housed — it all matters.

Megan isn’t asking for a handout. She’s working three jobs. She’s doing everything right. What she needs — and what tens of thousands like her need — is a system that doesn’t punish her for being poor in the richest metro in the country.

Let’s stop pretending this is some unsolvable mystery. We know the problem. We know the solutions. What we lack is the commitment to work together and press forward.  

The community is struggling. People are too close to the edge. The time to act for the greater good of all residents is now. 

San José Spotlight columnist Ray Bramson is the chief operating officer at Destination: Home, a nonprofit that works to end homelessness in Silicon Valley. His columns appear every second Monday of the month. Contact Ray at [email protected] or follow @rbramson on X.