Maritza Maldonado has witnessed firsthand the devastation the coronavirus has wrought on the community where she grew up in East San Jose: layoffs, hunger, illness and an alarming number of funerals.
âEspecially right after the holidays, we were hearing of people dying, several people a week,â said Maldonado, 60, who runs a local nonprofit that offers health care, legal aid and other services. âThese are people that we know. Our neighbors, the people we go to church with.â