The political tone of college towns across America often reflect the political tone of the colleges they surround.

This, unfortunately, does not appear to be the case for the areas surrounding De Anza College.

The San Francisco Bay Area has a long-standing reputation for its liberal values and communities that reflect them. It has set and maintained the standard for diversity in virtually every sense of the word; cultural, political, and one could even argue economic.

This is especially true for Silicon Valley, which has seemingly become the poster child for diversity. At the forefront of our current technological boom, Silicon Valley has managed to reel in people from nearly every corner of the globe and become a prime example of inclusivity.

Or so it seems.

Conventional economic theory tells us that with a growing economy comes a growing population. Businesses, ambitious entrepreneurs, and families have moved into the Silicon Valley with hopes of living a prosperous life, but in this competitive system society has adopted, not all are given golden opportunities.

In an area with a history of creating innovative solutions to some of our most persistent problems, one appears to be an exception through it all.  Even in the most prosperous of places, homelessness is an issue of considerable dimensions.

According to a Homeless Census and Survey Report conducted by the County of Santa Clara, the Valley is housing (no pun intended) over 7,000 homeless residents. Over two-thirds of which are “unsheltered” or who literally sleep on the ground.

Legislative efforts have been made to tackle the issue.

Back in 2016, Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, passed Assembly Bill 2176, which allows the city to build proposed “tiny homes” in various parts of the city to house some of the city’s homeless populace.

Lately, however, the sentiment across the valley doesn’t seem to be so welcoming of the new law.

Originally 99 were chosen as potential sites, but fierce opposition from residents have left city lawmakers with no choice but to narrow that list down to a pathetic four sites. After briefly skimming through the comments section of the article in The Mercury News, it’s clear most residents are reluctant or just downright oppose the idea altogether.

Among the many who oppose the idea, one comment written by user ‘General Patton’ claimed the area is “deteriorating more and more each day,” and went on to criticize the mayor for even allowing such a law to be passed.

This comment was, unfortunately, one of the milder ones.

While housing the homeless is only a partial solution, it doesn’t tackle the very root of the problem; underlying presumptions that generalize an entirely unique population.

According to a 2017 Applied Research Survey from the Santa Clara County Homeless Census, 83 percent of those who were homeless because of housing loss came from within Santa Clara County’s borders. Only 13 percent came from elsewhere in California. In addition, over a third (87 percent) of survey respondents reported job loss as the main cause of their homelessness. Alcohol/ Drug use only accounted for a mere 17 percent.

The notion that most homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics is a blatant example of the inhumanity that exist within the community. And it makes the job of lawmakers increasingly difficult. Residents and local lawmakers should emphasize legislation to improve schools, rehabilitation programs, and infrastructure programs that yield better results and have a much more pronounced effect on the homeless population.

With rents steadily rising, and homes being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars over their asking price, homelessness will continue to be a burgeoning obstacle.

The long term aim of these efforts should be constructive in nature, and ultimately to help these people return to being contributing members of society.

In short, this is a disappointing display of humanity. As prosperous and resourceful as Silicon Valley is, we should be able to come together and create viable solutions for such a relatively small portion of an already growing and wealthy population.