'I lost everything:' Homelessness surges in Silicon Valley
November 6, 2017 Updated: November 7, 2017 9:01amIn this photo taken Oct. 5, 2017, a man skates past a row of RVs where people live and sleep in the heart of silicon valley in Mountain View, Calif. Apartments across the street start at over $3,000 a month. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
In this photo taken Oct. 5, 2017, a man skates past a row of RVs where people live and sleep in the heart of silicon valley in Mountain View, Calif. Apartments across the street start at over $3,000 a month. ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 5, 2017, Delmi Ruiz, bottom, sits inside and RV where here family lives and sleeps under her daughter Delmi, 4, top, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez family was left homeless after the landlord in the apartment they rented hiked their rent beyond what they could afford. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. less
In this photo taken Oct. 5, 2017, Delmi Ruiz, bottom, sits inside and RV where here family lives and sleeps under her daughter Delmi, 4, top, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez family was left homeless ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Delmi Ruiz, right, and her husband Benito Hernandez chat outside their RV where their family lives and sleeps on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez was family was left homeless after the landlord in the apartment they rented hiked their rent beyond what they could afford. A homeless crisis of unprecedented proportions is rocking the West Coast, and its victims are being left behind by the very things that mark the region's success: soaring housing costs, rock-bottom vacancy rates and a roaring economy that waits for no one. less
Delmi Ruiz, right, and her husband Benito Hernandez chat outside their RV where their family lives and sleeps on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez was family was left homeless ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Delmi Ruiz Hernandez, 4, top, plays outside of an RV where her family lives on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez was family was left homeless after the landlord in the apartment they rented hiked their rent beyond what they could afford. A homeless crisis of unprecedented proportions is rocking the West Coast, and its victims are being left behind by the very things that mark the region's success: soaring housing costs, rock-bottom vacancy rates and a roaring economy that waits for no one. less
Delmi Ruiz Hernandez, 4, top, plays outside of an RV where her family lives on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. The Ruiz Hernandez was family was left homeless after the landlord in the ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prepares her lesson plan inside the station wagon where she sleeps on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prepares her lesson plan inside the station wagon where she sleeps on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prays before receiving a meal at Grace Baptist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prays before receiving a meal at Grace Baptist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 10, 2017, group of homeless people, including Ellen Tara James-Penney (wearing blue) left, a lecturer at San Jose State University, receive a meal at Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
In this photo taken Oct. 10, 2017, group of homeless people, including Ellen Tara James-Penney (wearing blue) left, a lecturer at San Jose State University, receive a meal at Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Ellen Tara James-Penney , a lecturer at San Jose State University, right, fixes the collar on her husband Jim's jacket at Grace Baptist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
Ellen Tara James-Penney , a lecturer at San Jose State University, right, fixes the collar on her husband Jim's jacket at Grace Baptist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 10, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prepares to stay the night inside her station wagon in the parking lot of Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
In this photo taken Oct. 10, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, prepares to stay the night inside her station wagon in the parking lot of Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 11, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, speaks to her English class on the university's campus in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
In this photo taken Oct. 11, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, a lecturer at San Jose State University, speaks to her English class on the university's campus in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 11, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, right, a lecturer at San Jose State University, talks with a student at the end of her English class on the university's campus in San Jose, Calif. The booming economy along the West Coast has led to an historic shortage of affordable housing and has upended the stereotypical view of people out on the streets. Reporting by The Associated Press finds that many of them are employed, working as retail clerks, plumbers, janitors _ even teachers. They go to work, sleep where they can and buy gym memberships for a place to shower. less
In this photo taken Oct. 11, 2017, Ellen Tara James-Penney, right, a lecturer at San Jose State University, talks with a student at the end of her English class on the university's campus in San Jose, Calif. ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, talks about living in homelessness in San Jose, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit in Half Moon Bay, about 13 miles from his job. He can barely afford the rent on his $16-an-hour salary, even with overtime, but the car that doubled as his home needed a pricey repair and he found a landlord willing to overlook his lousy credit. less
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, talks about living in homelessness in San Jose, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, goes through the trunk of his car in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit in Half Moon Bay, about 13 miles from his job. He can barely afford the rent on his $16-an-hour salary, even with overtime, but the car that doubled as his home needed a pricey repair and he found a landlord willing to overlook his lousy credit. less
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, goes through the trunk of his car in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, locks his bike in front of his workplace in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit in Half Moon Bay, about 13 miles from his job. He can barely afford the rent on his $16-an-hour salary, even with overtime, but the car that doubled as his home needed a pricey repair and he found a landlord willing to overlook his lousy credit. less
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, locks his bike in front of his workplace in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, talks to a friend after the end of his shift in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit in Half Moon Bay, about 13 miles from his job. He can barely afford the rent on his $16-an-hour salary, even with overtime, but the car that doubled as his home needed a pricey repair and he found a landlord willing to overlook his lousy credit. less
In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, talks to a friend after the end of his shift in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, looks out onto the street at a street corner near his work in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a $3,400 two-bedroom unit in Half Moon Bay, about 13 miles from his job. He can barely afford the rent on his $16-an-hour salary, even with overtime, but the car that doubled as his home needed a pricey repair and he found a landlord willing to overlook his lousy credit. less
In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2017, Albert Brown III, who works as a security officer, looks out onto the street at a street corner near his work in San Carlos, Calif. Brown recently signed a lease for half of a ... more
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — In the same affluent, suburban city where Google built its headquarters, Tes Saldana lives in a crowded but tidy camper she parks on the street.
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