When Manny Escarega began caring for his ailing mother six years ago, the 57-year-old moved into her home and was forced to put his search for employment on hold. But when she died, his brother rented the house to strangers, leaving an unemployed Escarega to fend for himself on the streets. Six years later and...
San Jose homeless crisis: This is where they sleep
Underneath your highways. On your sidewalks. In their cars. San Jose is home to more than 4,300 homeless residents. And when the lights go out in Silicon Valley, this is where the unsheltered homeless population sleeps. Rosalie Carrillo sleeps on the dirt beside a sidewalk near Story Road. She got hit by a car and...
Thousands raised for San Jose firefighters who lost Paradise homes
Retired San Jose Fire Captain Jeff Shackelford devoted 25 years to battling deadly blazes — then he lost his home in the most destructive wildfire in California history. Shackelford, 88, who’s battling dementia, lost his home in the devastating Camp Fire which charred about 164,000 acres. Shackelford now lives in a memory care facility. But...
San Jose State students explore legislation to combat homelessness
San Jose State University sophomore Bahati Burgess calls an old classroom at Grace Baptist Church his home. After being priced out of the dorms last year, the 19-year-old Oakland native became one of thousands of San Jose students experiencing homelessness while trying to earn their degrees. The downtown university has an alarmingly high number of...
Santa Clara County to overhaul its foster care system after critical report
After being shuffled from one foster home to another, Dontae Lartigue found himself homeless and without a job at 19 years old. Nearly a decade later Lartigue is at the center of a massive effort to overhaul the county’s foster care system — just weeks after a new report found Santa Clara County is failing...
Activists plan a San Jose community land trust for affordable housing
Fed up with astronomical rents that are squeezing out families, San Jose housing advocates are taking matters into their own hands. A trio of community groups have teamed up to form the first-ever community land trust in San Jose — an innovative strategy that would allow them to buy scarce land as a community and...
San José flood victims prepare for court battle
Hundreds of families are bracing for an upcoming court battle with the city of San José, Santa Clara County and Santa Clara Valley Water District, nearly two years after their homes were destroyed and lives upended...