San Jose volunteer event connects homeless to…
San Jose volunteer event connects homeless to those who help
By Janice Rombeck | Mercury News, Bay Area News Group
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT (publ. 05/24/07)
An article incorrectly stated the cost of identification cards for people participating in San Jose's Project Homeless Connect. The cost was $7 each and paid for by donations to Project Homeless Connect.
Parolees who can't get jobs, couples ousted from apartments as rents climb, workers laid off from a downsizing company. Each of their plights can lead to homelessness and they're all very familiar to Andrea Johnson, who volunteered Thursday at a San Jose event to help the needy.
Last weekend, Johnson, 33, was homeless herself. Then she found refuge in a church-operated home in San Jose and by Thursday she was eager to join 200 other volunteers who escorted participants to stations set up at Parkside Hall in downtown San Jose.
San Jose's fourth Project Homeless Connect drew about 600 homeless people living in shelters, cars, motels or on the streets. They were all at the event, which is sponsored by the city of San Jose and Santa Clara County, looking to get information about housing and jobs and sign up for social services. They also got to enjoy such luxuries as massages, haircuts and foot washings, a new feature this year.
For Johnson, the event was a way to give back.
"You get to see people who are where you've been," she said, "and introduce them to people who can help them out of their situations."
The Department of Motor Vehicles shuttled visitors to its office on Alma Street so they could have photos taken for identification cards. The service, which costs $22, was paid for by EHC LifeBuilders, the county's largest shelter provider. Participants could also register to vote, courtesy of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
Like Johnson, Vinetta Harris, 30, who had been homeless for six months, came to the event to inspire and encourage clients and volunteers. She and her 10-year-old son, Demecco, were out on the street after her roommate, who was holding the lease, was evicted. After Harris was turned down by a half-dozen agencies and churches because they were full, she finally received shelter through EHC LifeBuilders, which helped her get permanent housing. Today, she's married and attending Mission College.
"Don't give up," she told clients Thursday. "No matter what you do, don't give up."
Claudia Caraveo, 26, clutched a stack of re`sume`s she hoped to distribute in an effort to find work. Homeless for a year, she and her husband, Frankie, 25, had been staying at an EHC shelter in exchange for cleaning restrooms. She's hoping to get office work.
Dennis Edwards, 49, has been homeless since he was paroled to San Jose four months ago, after 16 months in prison on an identity theft conviction. He can stay in a shelter for 30 days, but after that, he said, "Where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to do?"
For a few minutes on Thursday, however, he could relax.
"I feel good," he said. While one foot soaked in bubbly, warm water, volunteer Susan Cervantes massaged the other. He also got a new pair of socks and shoes.
"This is something I love doing," said Cervantes, 30, referring to helping the homeless. As a Morgan Hill stay-at-home mom, she said, "I'm blessed."
Resting her head against a pillow, Rachel Gonzales, 32, got a back massage while her husband, David Dominguez, 54, held their 1 1/2-year-old son, Jonathan, and watched over their energetic 7-year-old, Matthew. Dominguez was waiting to get his blood sugar tested for diabetes. The family is staying in a shelter but hopes to get housing after Gonzales finishes an eight-month medical assistant training program at the Center for Employment Training.
Maria Cervantes, 56, says her barrier to employment is an inability to speak English well. She is taking English as a Second Language classes and wants to receive training as a caregiver. She was a secretary in Mexico City but hasn't found work here.
When she can't get a shelter bed she rides a bus all night, but it's a difficult way to live, she said. "You can't take a shower."
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
For more information on the homeless or housing, contact www.sjhousing.org or www.sccgov.org and click on Health and Human Care.
Contact Janice Rombeck at jrombeck@mercurynews.com or (408) 275-0917.
Janice Rombeck