The Intern

Courtney Shull is a senior at San Jose State University and an intern at SAP.

Local Election Issues

Kristin Connelly is the CEO of East Bay Leadership Council. She is currently working on publicizing proposition X which is a local transportation issue on the ballot.

Alfred Finds Grace

Alfred Perez has been homeless since 2011 when the Tohoku tsunami hit Japan. He was laid off from his job at age 50, and has been struggling to find one ever since. He shared that he never thought he would ever have this much trouble finding a job, especially this many years later. He never gives up hope that someday someone will believe in him and give him the opportunity he knows he deserves. Perez is currently sleeping next to the Diridon Train Station and wakes up every morning around 6 am. He then makes his way to Grace Baptist Community Center the four days a week it is open. At Grace he can either help with the cooking or cleaning to earn a free meal. He shared that Grace Baptist is unlike any other center he has ever been to. At Grace he feels like he is a part of something and he is recognized as a human being, not just another number waiting in line for food. Perez wishes that he found Grace sooner but is thankful for their services now. On the days that Grace is closed, Perez will travel as far as Mountain View to find showers and food. He now has a bike that he uses for traveling and is saving up the money he gets each month to buy a new pair of shoes for the winter. Perez had hoped that by this Christmas he would be off the streets and have found a job, but unfortunately at age 55 this isn't the case.