‘KIND OF LIKE A FAMILY’

When Jasmine Terranova became sick with the coronavirus recently, the 26-year- old couldn’t climb into a cozy bed to recuperate or count on loved ones to deliver soup to her front porch.

That’s because the Gavilan College student found herself sleeping alone at night in her 2002 Toyota Camry.

She struggled to breathe as she prayed that police wouldn’t boot her from a parking space near a gas station in Morgan Hill.

“I sometimes feel like I’m holding it together with chewing gum and old newspaper,” she said.

Enter Pivotal, a San Jose-based nonprofit that helps Silicon Valley’s foster youth succeed in high school, college and beyond. The organization, which provides coaching, scholarships and career readiness programs, had already been helping Terranova with school.

But when she tested positive for COVID-19 and confided the story of her sleeping arrangements, Pivotal arranged for her to stay in a nearby hotel, giving her time not only to recover but to save up enough to put down a deposit on a rented room in downtown San Jose.

“They are so supportive,” she said. “It’s kind of like a family.” In response to the pandemic, the nonprofit has launched an emergency assistance program to help young people pay for everything from rent and groceries to laptops.

“These students really are living on thin margins as it is, and the pandemic has made those margins even thinner,” said Christine Salinas, Pivotal’s grants manager.

“There’s no family to lean on,” Salinas said. “They system really has failed to take care of these children in a way that is equitable and fair.”

DAI SUGANO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Gavilan College student Jasmine Terranova, 26, was living in her car and had contracted the coronavirus when Pivotal stepped in to help. “They are so supportive,” she said.