‘We finally made it’: One South Bay mom’s journey from the streets to a place she can call home

When Rose Barajas celebrated her daughter’s fourth birthday last year, she desperately wanted to hide a secret.

They were living in a homeless shelter in San Jose at the time and Barajas didn’t want people to know. So she held the child’s party at a restaurant.

“That way, if people could come, they wouldn’t see that I’m not housed,” she said, sitting beside her daughter who shares the same name. “That was very stressful. I was afraid.”

A year later, much has changed. Barajas is now living in a house in San Jose through the help of PATH, a statewide nonprofit that works directly with local unhoused populations with the goal of ultimately finding them a permanent home.

But more importantly for little Rose, she celebrated her 5th birthday in October at home with friends, a bundle of brightly colored pink and blue balloons and a bouncy house that she was still playing with a day after her party.

“We’re finally here,” said Barajas, 42, watching her daughter jumping up and down with a smile. “We finally made it.” The two officially moved in on May 27.

The Barajas’ journey — from the instability of living on the streets to a bedroom, kitchen and mailbox they can call their own — is a testament to the power of PATH’s persistence in finding a way to crack the state’s seemingly intractable issue of homelessness. Established in 1983, PATH — People Assisting the Homeless — is connected with roughly 700 unhoused residents within the Silicon Valley area. Aside from its outreach programs, the nonprofit also has a real estate development arm that builds apartment communities. It is currently seeking $15,000 in Wish Book donations for client security deposits, clothing, shoes, cleaning supplies and other essentials.

One of those apartment communities — an interim housing site called Evans Lane that is located just south of downtown San Jose and east of the Guadalupe River — is where Barajas and her daughter first found solid footing.

Born and raised in San Jose, Barajas had a knack for entrepreneurship, and had started a couple of her own small businesses by her late teens. But soon she faced turbulence in her life. Over roughly the next decade and a half, Barajas spent time in prison for driving under the influence, was laid off from her job in the wake of the 2008 recession, got hit by a car and faced major medical issues and ultimately became homeless in 2014. She then landed in jail for drug possession.

“I was real desperate,” said Barajas.

By 2017, Barajas was pregnant with her daughter Rose and living in a vehicle, and scared of losing her baby. Nearly a year after Rose was born, she gave birth to Samantha. Barajas said she was dealing with serious medical issues at the time, so she turned over guardianship of her youngest daughter to a close friend. However, Barajas said she still keeps in touch with Samantha.

Just as the pandemic began, the RV she was living in got towed. Then about a year ago, Barajas ended up at a homeless shelter in East San Jose. During this time, she connected with PATH, who secured her a spot at Evans Lane.

The site is strictly for families and has 49 cabins scattered around a dog park, jungle gym, community center and outdoor patio. PATH places the city’s unhoused residents here while finding them a more permanent solution.

For Barajas, who lived there from February until the end of May, even minor conveniences made a big difference in her life, like having laundry detergent on hand or being able to come and go without a curfew. At a previous shelter she stayed at, a curfew had been a roadblock to taking on some side jobs to make some extra money.

“It gave me that physical break that I needed, as well as mental, because I was so long on the run and on the go,” said Barajas.

But she was determined to get a place of her own. With the help of PATH and another nonprofit, Abode Services, Barajas secured a rental about two miles north of Evans Lane. The one bedroom that she and her daughter share has all the comforts of home. Little Rose now has enough room for an impressive wall of stuffed animals and dolls. Posters with inspiring messages hang on the interior walls, with one reading “Change can happen” and another just a couple feet away that says “Anything is possible.”

Barajas says the transition hasn’t come without some stresses. She now has to figure out how to deal with bills. But it is worth it, she said.

“I am still so grateful to be here,” she said. “I feel like the luckiest person in the world.”

Back at Evans Lane, other residents are trying to find a home like Baraja’s.

E. B., who chose to not share her full name out of concerns for her safety, recently escaped San Francisco’s troubled Tenderloin neighborhood and lives at the site with her nine-month-old baby and wife.

While she appreciates the interim housing, she’s ready for the next chapter and plans to move out soon.

“They know my story,” said E.B. about PATH while her baby cooed in her arms. “They know my situation. They’re very sensitive to it. If I have any fears or anxiety, they listen to me. They are willing to walk with me and hold my hand through all the steps if I need it.”

THE WISH BOOK SERIES
Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.

WISH

Donations will enable PATH to help clients rebuild their lives and pay for housing security deposits, clothing, shoes, cleaning supplies and other essential items. Goal: $15,000

HOW TO GIVE
Donate at wishbook.mercurynews.com or mail in the coupon.

ONLINE EXTRA
Read other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at wishbook.mercurynews.com.