By Linda Taaffe
In a modest church hall behind San Jose State University, a lone volunteer stirs chili beans in a 10-gallon stock pot in between baking two trays of potatoes and grating carrots over a bowl of lettuce large enough to serve 40 of some of the area’s most down on their luck.
He sorts through a mound of grapes before determining that the fruit is rotten and must be tossed out. The pickings are meager tonight, he explains. There’s not a lot to work with. The pantry won’t be replenished from the nearby food bank until the following day. Ron has been staying at the shelter for a month with his wife and 2-year-old son. He helps cook as a way to contribute to the shelter and refrain from being idle.
“If I don’t get up and do something, I feel like I’m in a rut,” he said.
Those gathering for dinner as Ron finishes cooking have come from camps along the railroad tracks, from under the bridges that span the Guadalupe River or from downtown’s alleyways. Though each tells a different story of what led to the church, all share a common bond - none are able to afford a permanent place to live in one of California’s wealthiest cities.
The Community Homeless Alliance Ministry at the First Christian Church is spartan at best, but provides those without an address a modest meal twice a day, a place on the hardwood floor to lay down a blanket for the night and a voice in a city where some say they are often ignored or overlooked.
The group made local headlines this month when about 250 people associated with the ministry participated in a candlelight vigil in front of the Fairmont Hotel to bring awareness to the homeless issue during a visit from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Founded by a San Jose State student in 1990, the grassroots group prefers to operate on a meager budget of about $50,000 annually rather than accept government funding, which could jeopardize the religious element of the program.
Outreach Director Sandy Perry said the group operates on the philosophy that shelters should be temporary, not become institutions.
This is the third year the shelter has been included as a recipient for the Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund, which raises money for various local organizations serving needy families that do not have extensive traditional funding.
Perry said the ministry feeds about 400 different people over the course of a year and shelters about 170 of them.
An average of 50 people a month sleeps at the shelter. Of those, about 30 percent find permanent housing or move elsewhere, he said.
“There’s no time limit,” Perry said. “Families may stay as long as need to, as long as they’re not taking advantage. We’ve never had to turn (families) away. We’ve provided at least one night of shelter.”
Perry said the shelter saw slightly more working class poor during the area’s boom years. The economic slow down has brought more unemployed through the doors. The shelter is not at full capacity, he added.
“There’s always a gap between the cost of housing and the employment level in this area,” Perry said.
David, 50, a lifelong San Jose resident, homeless for nearly six years, lives on and off between the shelter and a makeshift camp next to the railroad tracks with his wife and two of his sons, a 4- and a 5-year-old. A landscaper by trade, David said he has been unsuccessful at finding work. His wife Raquel, on the other hand, had just finished her first day of work as a flag person at a nearby construction site.
David said his family’s problems started when the house where he lived taking care of mother was sold. That, coupled with a suspended driver’s license for mistakes he made in his youth, was enough to land them on the streets. David ended up at the shelter after their stay with friends and family wore thin. David said his family has moved into apartments for short periods of time but always seems to end up back in the streets when the bills get too high.
He shook his head as he explained how different his life used to be. How he had held a job with Ford Motor Company and even drove a new sports car.
“I’ve learned you have to like life or else you’re always mad,” he said. “After a while, you learn how to be humble.”
David said he spends many of his days at the library since the church vacates the hall during the day for the congregation to use. The homeless problem is much worse than most people suspect, he said.
If the death rate of homeless is any indication, the number of homeless has risen over the past year. City officials last week reported that 53 people without addresses had died over the past year in San Jose.
A memorial was held in their honor. Only 29 homeless people were reported to have died the previous year.
