Thanksgiving affords us a little more free time, thankfully. But rather than getting pulled into the chaos that is Black Friday, here's a list of suggestions on how to give back a little during the four-day weekend.

November is National Homeless & Runaway Prevention Month and Santa Clara County is not immune to the reality of this issue. You can make a difference this month by taking an active role at a pair of National Homeless & Runaway Prevention Month events in the South Bay.

As the federal government struggles to catch up to a massive backlog of pending benefit claims from ex-military men and women, Santa Clara County will consider a pilot program to expedite applications from local homeless veterans.

A coordinated effort to address some of St. James Park’s problems took place this summer. The process was a little convoluted and had some fits and starts, but the early results have been encouraging.

San Jose Inside takes a look at several programs designed to reduce homelessness in Silicon Valley. The different approaches show there is no easy solution.

San Jose wants to clean up its largest homeless encampment and build a fence around it to prevent illegal dumping. But residents of The Jungle say they have nowhere else to go.

Foster care youth advocate Sparky Harlan invites lawmakers and leaders to learn firsthand from people who experience homelessness.

San Jose may explore the idea of building “micro-housing”—tiny, 150-square-foot cottages—to house the homeless.

While San Francisco commands more headlines for its exorbitant rental prices, San Jose has struggled to meet affordable housing goals of its own.

San Jose’s homeless residents could soon have the option of using their housing vouchers to stay in underutilized hotels and motels.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider a one-year, $650,000 contract with the San Jose Streets Team, an organization that finds work and housing for homeless people who can and want to work.

The stink of ex-Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr. has dissipated, and Santa Clara County is focused on a fresh start for 2014. “Scandal is no longer in the air,” Supervisor Ken Yeager said after Tuesday’s State of the County speech, delivered by recently sworn-in Board President Mike Wasserman. “We certainly spent most of last year changing and improving public outreach and creating much more transparency than there was before.” Wasserman’s address focused on the county’s role as a safety net for the most vulnerable, while also highlighting the little-known services it provides for residents.

The beginning of the New Year is a time for resolutions and “Top Ten” wishlists. This is my Bill Wilson Center wish list for addressing some of the major issues around homelessness for our youth.

Stories on the plight of the homeless during the recent cold weather have focused on adults living in encampments. But in San Jose there is another homeless population that rarely gets any attention:  homeless college students. CNN Money wrote about a homeless college student who was turned out of her Midwest school during winter break. Where do homeless students living in local college dorms go during winter break?

Copper wire theft and other problems leave hundreds of streetlights dark, creating a public safety problem in several neighborhoods. But what if the city leases these poles to telecom companies as cell stations to expand their 4G network? Councilmembers Rose Herrera and Sam Liccardo proposed the idea, saying the lights get fixed, courtesy of Philips, and San Jose receives better cell phone service while residents aren’t left in the dark.

A point-in-time count on the number of homeless individuals and families in San Jose and Santa Clara County was completed earlier this year. Santa Clara County had 1,200 homeless youth under age 25—either in homeless shelters or on the street. This was more than the number counted for San Francisco during the same time. It is hard to believe that we have more homeless youth and young adults than San Francisco, but the numbers don’t lie.