A father in the South Bay said that his homeless teen son killed himself because other students at the high school where they both went were mean to him.
Now, Jose Bautista wants to tell the story of his son to bring attention to Jose Zamora, his 14-year-old son, who just started school at Santa Clara High three months ago.
Bautista said, “He felt like making me happy.” “He was trying to be a better child.”
Last Tuesday, Jose killed himself.
The sad, single dad said that the kid had been bullied at his high school when he was a freshman.
“I miss seeing and hearing him. “I miss getting him,” Bautista said.
Dad said he would pick Jose up from Santa Clara High, where he played football on the junior varsity team.
Other students told Bautista that his son’s friends picked on him because he was homeless and didn’t have a mother. This was after his son was found dead.
“They were spitting on him, hitting him on the back of the helmet,” he said.
Bautista said that the other football players also knew that his son was living at the Bill Wilson Center, a non-profit shelter for homeless and troubled kids.
Bautista said that his son was getting help there for mental health problems.
The dad and son lost their apartment earlier this year and now have no place to live.
“We knew each other better. That’s not what he was waiting for—a place to live,” Bautista said.
He also said that he had hoped to find a new place for him and his son to live this holiday season.
Bautista asked the school district if the people they thought were bullying his son were being held responsible.
In a written statement, Gary Waddell, the superintendent of schools, said, in part, “Administrators have already taken initial actions in response.” We don’t agree with any bullying, abuse, or retaliation, and we take any claims of this very seriously. There are a lot of facts we want to share with the community, but we also have to protect the privacy and confidentiality of both kids and families.
Bautista said he wants other people to understand what took place.
He said, “It’s kind of hard.” “I just don’t want this to happen to other people like it happened to me.”
A web-based campaign has been set up to help pay for the funeral and burial of his son.
Both the school board and the Santa Clara Police Department said they are looking into Jose’s death.
Source: 14-year-old dies by suicide after Santa Clara schoolmates bully him about being homeless: father
