Studying Homelessness in Silicon Valley: RS Participation in SCU’s Unhoused Initiative
Religious Studies faculty David DeCosse and Philip Boo Riley are part of the leadership for Santa Clara’s Unhoused Initiative (UHI), an interdisciplinary group of faculty seeking to bring SCU’s resources as an academic institution to collaboration with local community non-profits and agencies engaging homelessness in Silicon Valley.
On November 18-19 the UHI launched a year-long series titled, “From the Jungle Encampment Sweep to the Grants Pass Ruling: Perspectives on Homelessness in Silicon Valley.” The first event in the series consisted of 1) a panel of local advocates who reflected on the “sweep” of The Jungle homeless encampment in December of 2014, and the health and safety consequences and lasting impacts of similar sweeps over the past ten years, and 2) a display of part of a public art installation that uses tombstones to commemorate the estimated 200+ unhoused individuals who have died outside on the streets in Santa Clara County in 2024. David De Cosse moderated the November 19 panel, watch the video recording.
Boo Riley worked with local advocate and artist Shaunn Cartwright to set up the campus tombstone display on Monday and Tuesday on the lawn between Kenna and Benson. The campus display had some behind the scenes assistance from two other religious studies faculty—Cathleen Chopra-McGowan and Elyse Raby (and their protégé, Uma)—who joined Boo on Sunday evening to set up a workshop in Swig basement in which they assembled the tombstones to the 2x6 boards that held them in place for the two days.
The UHI’s series will continue in winter quarter with a program on unhoused women’s experience in encampments in the local community, and another focusing more directly on the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling.
