Martha is a Stanford worker who works night-shifts cleaning buildings in Main Quad. She rents in San José with her son and mother.
"My experience renting in San José has been very difficult. I had a very bad experience with landlord harassment. The landlord was very racist. She accused my son of graffiti & of being a gang member. My son entered a severe depression because the security guards would come knock on the door & would ask to see his license, saying that he did not have authorization to drive his car. The manager would spy on us throughout the night & put cameras outside of our apartment. One day after school, my son was sitting in his car talking with his girlfriend when police surrounded the car searched the vehicle without a warrant. My son went into shock & it has had a severe impact on his health. I was homeless for two nights and had to sleep in my car with my children because our landlord kicked us out due to personal animosity. It was a lot of pressure to pay rent & at the same time live in fear of this lady who was constantly spying on us. I have seen a lawyer & did an interview with Telemundo with the hopes that some justice would come of this, but no one has been able to help me. For these reasons, I moved out of San José and into Milpitas."