The homeless couple who fell in love in the shadow of Silicon Valley

Irish photographer and director Niall O’Brien captures a relationship blossoming amongst poverty and deprivation.

A version of this story appears in Issue 79 of Huck. Get your copy now, or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.

When Irish photographer and director Niall O’Brien and his girlfriend Nikki moved to Silicon Valley for a three-month work secondment, they found themselves in a nondescript area called Campbell. They were living in a big, soulless, empty apartment building where Niall would ride his bike around the space because there was nothing else to do while his girlfriend was at work and traveling.

“The most exciting thing I had was running to Whole Foods,” half laughs Niall. His salvation from boredom was Bascom Avenue — a six-mile-long road that crosses through three cities; Los Gatos, Campbell and San Jose. The distance it covered and the juxtaposition of well-off highly paid tech workers alongside huge numbers of homeless people was something he couldn’t ignore. “I just walked up and down that same road,” Niall says. “Never turning off it, trying to find something, which was kind of hard but also interesting. I was there for three months and just kept photographing it.”

These photographs evolved into a project: Three Cities – named after the places Bascom Avenue connects – showing how crazy the whole ‘Silicon Valley situation’ is. The contradictions of how expensive the area is, the tech company employees that are pumping prices up versus an increasing number of homeless people, many of whom are also in full-time employment. “There’s a charity set up here for working people called the Safe Parking Program,” Niall explains. “You have to have a job to apply for it, it’s for working people who can’t afford to rent, so they have somewhere safe to live in their cars. It’s crazy, you have teachers and nurses living in their cars because they can’t afford rent. I actually met a guy in a doughnut shop one day and he commented on my camera and we started chatting about this whole safe parking thing. He’s like, ‘it’s funny you mentioned that as I’m actually thinking about it myself.’ He worked for the local college driving a bus. He’d just gone through a divorce and was looking at living in his car.”

One morning, new inspiration appeared: “I was looking over the balcony into this alley down the side of my apartment building,” recounts the Irish photographer. “And I saw a homeless-looking man down there. He was a guy I had seen before in the alley and also singing for money by the Whole Foods. So when he looked up at me and waved, I was like, ‘Hey, do you want breakfast?’ And I just went and got breakfast with the guy. Turns out his name was Blake and he’d chosen to be homeless — he was off the grid intentionally. He was such a clever man — really smart and articulate, and I started to photograph him as we became friends.” The Three Cities photo and film project had become more than a story about the road and class divide.

As O’Brien and Blake’s friendship started to grow, his new buddy met a woman called Dana and they fell in love — Niall documenting their blossoming relationship and increasing reliance on each other. “Dana had a serious addiction problem,” O’Brien explains. “She was in a very sad place, mentally — we visited her kid’s grave at one point — it was pretty heavy stuff. But it was pretty amazing to get to know them both.”

In the eye-opening, raw and ultimately uplifting short film Niall made as part of Three Cities, Dana credits Blake for changing her life. “I’ve changed my ways now,” she admits. “I learnt from him, to not go back to none of that.” From initially living rough in an alleyway, Blake and Dana managed to buy a van halfway through the project, which they lived in. Niall isn’t entirely sure where they are now. After three months it was time to move back to LA. “I did stay in contact with Dana on Facebook,” O’Brien says. “But we’ve lost touch recently, but I will see them again. It was a beautiful way to pass the time for three months. “For me, it’s the contradiction of Silicon Valley and all its overpriced banality versus the burgeoning homeless situation that is told as you travel along Bascom Avenue, which is the essence of Three Cities.” O’Brien concludes.

“But it’s also a love story. The humanity of the love story of Blake and Dana is important. When I met Blake, he was pushing 60 and alone. Happy, but alone. So it’s a story of a nearly 60-year-old man meeting someone and falling in love. On the street. It’s kind of amazing.”

See a full gallery of the Three Cities project here.

Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Twitter and Instagram.

You might like

Vibrant book covers against bleak, rocky hills and buildings; 'Babylon' and 'Albion' text in bold lettering.
Culture

Dalia Al-Dujaili: “When you’re placeless, nature can fill the void”

Babylon, Albion — As her new book publishes, the British-Iraqi author speaks about connecting with the land as a second-generation migrant, plants as symbols of resistance, and being proud of her parents.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Angela Hui

A punk rock band performing on stage, with a female lead singer belting into a microphone. Behind them, a colourful mural with graffiti-style text.
Music

Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene

Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Three individuals in swimming attire holding surfboards, standing in a field with cacti in the background.
Sport

A new documentary spotlights Ecuador’s women surfers fighting climate change

Ceibo — Co-directed by Maddie Meddings and Lucy Small, the film focuses on the work and story of Pacha Light, a wave rider who lived off-grid before reconnecting with her country’s activist heritage.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Surfers against sewage protest box floating in water with people swimming around it.
© Alex Brown / Surfers Against Sewage
Sport

The rebellious roots of Cornwall’s surfing scene

100 years of waveriding — Despite past attempts to ban the sport from beaches, surfers have remained as integral, conservationist presences in England’s southwestern tip. A new exhibition in Falmouth traces its long history in the area.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.