The Bay Area in California include the world famous San Francisco, one of the most diverse cities inn the world, and San Jose, the heart of the Silicon Valley where some of the greatest innovations in technology come from. This are is also one of the most expensive in the world, pushing many to live in the streets, parks and under bridges: the Bay Area they can afford.
Jose: As always, your excellent photographs help us remain grounded in reality - whether it be the joys of Carnival, or in this case the helplessness of the homeless. Nor is this problem confined to the City; in many of our East Bay cities, I see the same issues. Many of these people have lost hope, and plunged into the depths of addiction. Clearing them off the streets, and dumping them into county mental hospitals or "structured" homeless shelters, does little the resolve their problems. These people need help, many on an individual basis, and our present politically fractured city councils seem unable, or unwilling, to provide even the basics. While donating our time and money to the likes of Glide, Second Harvest or Habitat helps, it will never be enough.
