Facebook employee is homeless, lives out of car

NEWARK, Calif. (KTVU) - The high cost of living in the Silicon Valley is taking its toll- even on tech workers.

Just ask Unique Parsha.

She has a job at Facebook and is also homeless, living out of her car.

Parsha's nickname is "Pinky"- she has pink hair, a pink car, and even a pink dog. But she says, things aren't always as rosy as they appear. 

Parsha says, "I tell people all the time, stop looking at what somebody got and what you see on the outside".

On the outside, Parsha is a model Facebook worker, who runs a non-profit in her spare time. But she's been living out of her car since April. 

"Everything I do here, this is my life. This car means everything to me because it's all I have basically".

Except she also has student loans and medical bills. Even with her salary, an apartment can run more than $2,000 per month in Silicon Valley- and that's out of reach. 

"I'm very embarrassed because I don't want to be looked down upon or talked about".

Parsha says until now, she hasn't told her co-workers that she's homeless. It's a matter of pride. 

"They would be shocked that I'm going through that because they would be like 'I see you smiling at work, you appear to be happy. You look normal, you look clean".

Parsha decided that now is the time to start talking about her situation, in the hopes of opening a real dialogue about the high cost of living in the Silicon Valley. 

"I think that companies need to look at the salaries. Are we paying employees enough to survive?"

Tonight, Parsha broke down, renting a hotel room so she can get a real night's sleep. 

She says she's trying to stay positive and that a home is just around the corner- and the security that comes with it.

Parsha has only worked at Facebook for two months, but says she is already looking into getting a second job to help make ends meet.