MILPITAS– There isn’t much storage space in Lanette Quiroz’s apartment at Hillview Court. Everything she and her boyfriend own in the former hotel room-turned supportive housing unit is nestled tightly in there: from clothes and toiletries to memorabilia collected from their time living in homeless camps around the South Bay.

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But there’s one thing Quiroz will always make room for — art supplies. The 46-year-old glitter enthusiast, decorative bead connoisseur and budding artist will make just about anything, with everything.

Mini plastic drawers and boxes filled with crafting trinkets are perched on top of small organizer cabinets. Paint brushes and scissors stand upright in a makeshift holder. Somewhere by her kitchenette area, are jugs of epoxy resin that she uses to make hard decorative pieces.

Lanette Quiroz holds one of her crafts—a rose-shaped jewelry container made of resin—in her room at Hillview Court in Milpitas, Calif., on June 6, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) 

For Quiroz — whose resume of life experiences include being a teenage mom, living through San Jose’s 2017 Coyote Creek flooding debacle and battling Stage 2 breast cancer — creating art is therapeutic.

“Some people have said, ‘Oh I’ll pay you for that, what do you want?’ Quiroz said, showing off a glitter-coated painting and homemade dream catchers made from resin. “I said I don’t know. I’m not trying to really sell them. I just like to make them for people to enjoy.”

The San Jose native started making art recently as a way to keep her busy while staying at Hillview. She and her boyfriend have been living there ever since 2021 when the 134-unit complex opened its doors to locals who were homeless or at risk of becoming unhoused.

Quiroz will usually get discounted supplies from Michaels or Savers, and bestows her finished pieces to friends and family members. Whatever is left over finds a home in her room: a mini surf board with a hand-painted Hello Kitty leans on one wall while 3-D sculptures made entirely from colorful plastic beads melted together sit on top of tables.

“I didn’t think I would be doing anything like this,” she said. “But it’s fun. I’d rather be doing this here, than being out in the streets, having to do other things.”

Hillview is overseen by Santa Clara County and Jamboree Housing, a corporation that specializes in creating affordable homes in California. Around 9,903 unhoused people live in the county, but the area reportedly has just over 5,000 year-round shelter and transitional housing beds.

Permanent housing, which combines affordable housing with supportive services, has been an attractive option for cities dealing with rising housing insecurity among its residents, according to Jamboree. Permanent housing complex options in Santa Clara County rose by about 27% between 2023 and 2024.

An exterior view of Hillview Court, where Lanette Quiroz lives, is seen in Milpitas, Calif., on June 6, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) 

Navigating life without a stable roof over her head was new territory for Quiroz. The Valley Christian and Santa Teresa High School alumna grew up in a home raised by a single mom. In Quiroz’s junior year, she became pregnant with her first child. Three more kids soon followed, and the youngest has autism. For a while, Quiroz, her children and boyfriend lived in Section 8 housing, a federal rental assistance program that assists low-income families with rent payments.

When Quiroz couldn’t couldn’t renew their program application, the clan lost their home. Quiroz and her boyfriend started living on the streets while Quiroz’s mother was given guardianship of the children. The pair put down roots over the South Bay, starting with the railroad tracks next to the old Wonder Bread Factory in Milpitas, then to a bridge next to the Berryessa Flea Market in North San Jose, and then for a long time, near Coyote Creek in the southern part of the city.

“I didn’t think I would be homeless for that long,” she said. “Honestly I thought it would be easy to get a job and bring myself out of it, but it wasn’t.”

But then one day, helped arrived. Local homeless outreach agencies introduced them to Hillview and helped them get their current apartment. Once they started settling in and weening off “survival mode,” Quiroz said, Hillview and Jamboree staff recommended the two get medical check-ups. After going a decade without a doctor’s appointment, Quiroz received a harsh diagnosis: she had Stage 2 breast cancer.

For an intense year, the staff and Quiroz’s family carted her off to doctor’s appointments, radiation, chemotherapy and breast augmentation. Now, she’s finished with her cancer treatments and recovering. Quiroz spends her days hanging out with her mother, now-grown children and their children — usually trying to convince them to do crafts with her.

“I fought (cancer) I beat it,” she said. “So now I’m just trying to do whatever I can do to be happier.”

Lanette Quiroz, a resident of Hillview Court, speaks during an interview on June 6, 2025, in Milpitas, Calif. Quiroz has finished with breast cancer treatment and is recovering. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)