Category: Neighborhoods

When people got sick in East Palo Alto, the most they could do without insurance was "pray, drink tea and hope," says some residents. All that changed with the development of the Ravenswood Family Health Clinic.

Artists Adrian Avila and Samuel Rodriguez teamed up with the Gardener community to produce the Inspire mural. This video shares the day by day evolution of Inspire.

A week after Kenneth Harding was killed during an altercation with San Francisco police officers on a light rail train, his mother Denika Chatman talked with San Francisco BayView reporter Natasha Reid.

Silicon Valley De-Bug interviewed Bayview youth/community and young people on their thoughts and feelings on the shooting in BayView Hunters Point of the 19-year-old.

Community based artists, Adrian Avila and Samuel Rodriguez, teamed up to bring inspiration in an artistic form to neighborhoods throughout San Jose. Their first mural went up at the Gardner Market on Virginia and Delmas in West San José.

The unity proposal came in reaction to the new redistricting commission’s first set of maps, which carved up many communities of color, diluting their political power.

The annual free concert event series is back in full swing in San Jose, and now De-Bug is bringing live art, silk-screening, and other activities to supplement the events.

During a week of violence in San Jose a loved member of the community, just 18 years old, was stabbed to death and A-town in San Jose is left with a greater police presence.

On Block to Block Radio, Eastridge Little League President Jerry Soriano and Treasure Tony Ortega talk about how working class families in East San Jose came together to provide activities for youth through a community spirit.

The following video was aired May 16th at a community action to save the seniors nutrition program. At the event, elders asked city council members Sam Liccardo and Madison Nguyen to protect services for seniors.

Amidst major budget cuts that have left senior citizen services on the chopping block, Maria Fernandez of Sacred Heart Community Services shares the organizing efforts by elders who are fighting to keep their community healthy and whole.

Author Andrew Lam writes that the latest census numbers showing a rise in Asian-Americans points to a larger cultural shift in Bay Area, one that reaches across all races.

Newly appointed Chief Moore sat down with La Oferta reporter Nahui Ollin to discuss his plans to regain trust with ethnic communities.

The early months of 2011 have already registered 11 homicides in East San Jose. Young men of color have been both victims and perpetrators of the attacks. De-Bug gathered young men from the Eastside to talk about what they are seeing on the streets, and what can be done to stop the violence.

San Jose has already registered seven homicides in 2011, nearly matching half of the total killings from the previous year. The victims are often young and brown. Marcos Reyes, who lives in the same neighborhoods where sidewalk memorials are springing up, describes what it feels like to be a part of a community in peril.

Days before news broke that the City Manager had picked the Interim Chief Moore as the next San Jose Police Chief, CJA sent a letter detailing why Chief Batts was most qualified to meet their community criteria. The City Council is expected to make their decisions regarding Chief Moore on Tuesday.

In an unprecedented collaborative effort, the two agencies have developed an approach to help inform and assist the Latino community learn about their rights to file complaints against police officers.

The Vietnamese community of San Jose came together to discuss their criteria for the selection of the next San Jose Police Chief. The dialogue centered around officer-involved shootings and building back trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

De-Bug's Block2Block Radio host David Madrid talks with Adam King of the New Skin Adult Tattoo Removal program, a new non-profit in the South Bay that provides job search assistance along with removing visible gang related tattoos at an affordable price.

With the county in a recession, it is those who are often heard the least from — youth and elders — who are baring the brunt of a deep economic crisis. The moment of dwindling resources though may by an opportunity for a now veteran youth movement to lead, not just for other youth, but for all generations.

In episode #4 of Message to the New San Jose Police Chief, Richard Babcock, an artist and mental health client, shares his experiences with SJPD, and his hopes for a new training protocols. The Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has initiated this multimedia project to inform the police chief selection process.

Hidden from view in East Side neighborhoods are Vietnamese restaurant bars frequented only by those in the know. De-Bug writer Patrick Thanh An Ngô gives us a rundown of what these establishments are and who goes there.

The Bay Area was draped in orange and black this week as it celebrated the Giants winning the World Series. Videographer Jean Melesaine documented the spirited Giants parade, while Fernando Perez recalls his experience of rooting for the new world champs.

Silicon Valley De-Bug's Block2Block Radio talks with J. Manuel Herrera, who is running for Eastside Union School Board. Herrera talks about his family history on the eastside, school test scores, and his view on charter schools in the district.

Silicon Valley De-Bug and the Coalition for Justice and Accountability presents a "Message to the New San Jose Police Chief" — an ongoing multimedia project profiling a diversity of San Jose residents offering their advice and hopes for the next San Jose Police chief. This week's feature is on David Madrid, an East San Jose community member.

Not all addictions get the same amount of attention, yet can still cause equally devastating impacts on families. One young author writes about how gambling addiction wreaked havoc on her family, and how she noticed similar struggles in other Vietnamese households.

Eight years ago, the Tropicana Center, comprised of immigrant small business owners, faced being destroyed by City redevelopment plans. But the store owners and the community united, fought back, and are now doing better than ever.

In North San Jose, a unique taco truck is quickly developing a fan base with its green chorizo tacos. The tacos served by Cuauhtemoc Lopez are inspired by his youth growing up in the world capital of chorizo in the city of Toluca in Mexico. Mr. Lopez talks about the difficult times he faced before becoming a successful and outstanding Taquero.

Soccer stars from Tottenham Hotspurs and San Jose Earthquakes mix it up with kids at two Kidango elementary schools in Eastside San Jose.

In 2006 Nancy Gutierrez faced plenty of challenges as she became principal of Fischer Middle School in East San Jose. She has since drawn upon her own East Side roots to connect with the students, and provide them an educational path to success.

Mixed Martial Arts is one of the fasting growing sports in the country. At the Washington Youth Center in West San Jose, the Norcal Fight Factory has used the sport's appeal as a way to offer at risk youth another choice beyond gangs and the streets.

When 19-year-old Steven Powell was shot and killed at the Pink Party in San Francisco during the Gay Pride festivities, there were some unexpected reactions. Commentator Jean Melesaine, who saw a fallen Powell at the event, says the response by some in the gay community reveal underlying tensions around race and class.

Given today’s high cost of health care, the RotaCare San Jose Clinic (also known as the Free Clinic) is a community treasure. This nonprofit clinic provides free medical care to low-income individuals and families who have no health insurance in San Jose.

Local advocacy group People Acting in Community Together, joined by local faith organizations and city council candidates, rallied community members to divest from Bank of America.

In West San Jose, the Washington Youth Center and the Gardener Community Center has been turning lives around for disadvantaged youth.

When the San Jose Medical Center closed in 2004, thousands of downtown residents were left stranded without medical services. After years of public pressure, the Santa Clara County has finally announced a plan to build a new downtown clinic on the original site.