Meet Feli Share this Article Feli Mercado’s pixie cut hairstyle has straight bangs high on her forehead, the reddish strands no more than a fraction of an inch long — just long enough so that she no longer looks like a cancer patient. She still feels like one. Mercado gets tired sometimes, occasionally dizzy. Her […]
Meet Ucal Share this Article It wasn’t long ago that Ucal Kenard felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him. A single father of a then-5-year-old, Kenard got laid off from his job working at an insurance company in 2022. The Oakland native applied for unemployment and other government benefits to get […]
Meet Elba & Saul Share this Article Elba Castro hasn’t taken a day off work for almost a year. She and husband Saul Arriaga emigrated from El Salvador in 2008 as they were expecting their firstborn, Bryan, who is now 17 years old. The couple decided the outlook in their native country was unfavorable, amid […]
Meet Patricia Share this Article Moving boxes fill Patricia Ferraro’s narrow living room, leaving just enough of a path for her to navigate between her apartment’s front door and her chair, which is specially cushioned to aid her ailing back. Ferraro would love nothing more than to stay put, but she is on the move […]
Meet Alofa & Sandi Share this Article Sitting on her living room couch, Sandi Laupua glanced around her Santa Rosa apartment. Her 2-year-old grandson scooted a toy truck along the coffee table. Across from a wall covered in framed family photos was a small Christmas tree adorned with sparkling gold lights. Not long ago, Sandi […]
Meet Isabella Share this Article Isabella Andrade is a self-described homebody. She likes locked doors, early bedtimes and the sound of the rain outside when she’s snug under her blanket on the couch. She rearranges her furniture sometimes, but any change bigger than that makes her nervous. So it’s not by choice that Andrade, 27, […]
Meet the Food Banks Share this Article The Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose bustled with activity last month on the day before Thanksgiving, as local community members filled shopping carts with cabbages, bok choy, apples and grapefruit. Every two weeks, the cultural center serves as a food distribution site, providing fruits and vegetables, […]
Meet Prudence Share this Article All it took was forgetting to buy her son’s toiletries. Prudence Wesson headed back inside the drugstore — 10 minutes tops — then drove home to her San Rafael apartment without a thought. Later, she recalled, “I reached back to get my purse, and it’s not there.” Presuming it stolen […]
Meet Robin Share this Article Robin Cayabo heard the crack of her leg breaking as soon as she landed on the pavement. It was late July, and Cayabo, a 46-year-old Mountain View resident, was bike riding with friends through San Jose during a monthly group trek they called the San Jose Bike Party. Cayabo figured […]
Meet April Share this Article For six months, April Chandler and her dog made do in an abandoned trailer outside her mother’s San Jose home. Thirteen feet long. No electricity. Chandler would charge her phone at her mother’s house during the day so she could use the flashlight at night. When it was cold, she […]
