After growing up as a foster child, sociology senior Saline Chandler faced homelessness during her early years at San Jose State.
“I am the face of homelessness,” Chandler said at the Student Homeless Alliance press conference on Monday. Chandler was homeless during 2011 and 2012.
Despite having housing as a freshman, she had nowhere to go during winter break and ended up sleeping on the streets.
“I was told that I would get housing when I come to San Jose State, and they only secured that for the two semesters, not including the winter break, which is when I found myself homeless for the first time,” Chandler said.
That winter, Chandler had no car and didn’t know where to go for help.
“I literally slept outside, and that’s why I got pneumonia,” she said. “I slept behind a grocery store, I slept on the light rail, I slept on bus [Route] 22, I slept on benches around campus, and I slept in homeless shelters that weren’t really suitable.”
She got a car the next year from her birth mother, but that came with its own problems. Chandler said that while she was able to sleep in it, she also racked up parking tickets and other fines. She was unsure of what to do.
“I didn’t even know who to talk to, there was no SJSU Cares, there was no Just in Time food pantry,” Chandler said.
As a first-generation college student, Chandler tried reaching out to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) for help, but it backfired.
“I told the EOP program that I was homeless, and they ended up kicking me out of the program after my freshman year,” she said. “They said I didn’t meet all of their requirements, which was to attend workshops and things like that. But being that I was homeless, those were really hard to get to.”
The Educational Opportunity Program director, Teresa De La Cruz, did not respond to request for comment.
Chandler also said she reached out to Counseling and Psychological Services for help, but all the department could offer her was counseling services, not housing services.
“It takes a huge damper on your mental health, when you’re homeless,” she said. “You end up struggling to focus and concentrate because you’re not only tired because you didn’t get well rest, but you’re also hungry.”
Chandler said she was trying to save as much money as possible to find an apartment to stay in, and sometimes, that meant skipping meals. This was on top of the three minimum-wage jobs she was already working.
Throughout all of this, Chandler still had to focus on school. She said she found herself on academic probation, and it took all of her focus to get back on track.
In her eighth year at SJSU, Chandler is now on track to graduate after Fall 2019. During the years, she has switched her major from political science to sociology.
“I learned that the political system is not set up to address the changes and that real social change comes from social movement and social action,” she said.
Chandler said she wants to become an advocate for foster children and the homeless as a public official, potentially with the City of San Jose.
She currently serves on the lived experience advisory board for Destination: Home, said Scott Myers-Lipton, sociology professor and adviser to Student Homeless Alliance. The organization helps identify solutions for homelessness, and Chandler contributes her personal experiences.
Chandler described her experience as a foster child as “horrible.” She also said she “moved around over 10 foster homes in the span of a year.”
She wants to make sure that students in the same situation have the resources they need to succeed. But despite the additional resources the university has made available to students, Chandler doesn’t think they are currently sufficient.
“There’s only two beds for SJSU Cares, and that’s why we’re trying to expand it to 12, because I don’t think there’s enough,” she said.
SJSU Cares is the resource center on campus to guide students facing homelessness or food insecurity toward resources that can help them, including the Spartan Food Pantry and emergency grants for housing assistance.
Chandler wants to have a “well-lit, well-known spot on campus” for students to park their cars, so others don’t have to go through the experience she did.
While homeless, Chandler described herself as ashamed of her situation.
“I was afraid to speak up – and I was afraid that speaking up wouldn’t result in anything or getting any resources,” she said.
But now, with a roof over her head, Chandler will be one of the four students from the Student Homeless Alliance to meet with SJSU President Mary Papazian today – speaking up in hopes that other students can get access to the resources she didn’t.
