El plan para personas sin hogar de Gilroy carece de detalles sobre los próximos pasos.

A South County committee on homelessness — funded by a nonprofit dedicated to solving the problem  — spent thousands of dollars to develop a plan to support homeless residents, but showed up empty handed at the Gilroy City Council meeting last week.

Destination: Home provided $54,557 in funding to Gilroy to pay for Homebase, a nonprofit adviser that helps cities build plans to end homelessness. The funds covered costs for six meetings that included outreach to supportive service providers, research into cities such as Tulare and San José on their approaches to homelessness and documentation of the committee’s priorities and next steps. But at the Nov. 2 council meeting, the only recommendation brought forth by ad hoc committee was to build a stable and managed site for unhoused people — with no specifics on how or where it would be built, how much it would cost and where funding would come from.

“Given six meetings with a wide cross section of people in the ad hoc committee and at (roughly) $9,000 per meeting, I was disappointed in the lack of substantial facts and recommendations in their report,” Councilmember Terence Fugazzi told San José Spotlight. “It was if they were coming to us for direction instead of what should have been the other way around. All we got was, ‘We like Tulare.’”

The committee includes Mayor Greg Bozzo as chair, Gilroy Councilmembers Kelly Ramirez and Dion Bracco, Morgan Hill Councilmember Soraida Iwanaga, business and property owners Chris Vanni and Ann Marie McCauley, service providers and advocates Vanessa Ashford and Vicky Martin, and Aubrey Tasby and TJ Napihaa representing homeless residents with lived experience.

Destination: Home spokesperson Chelsea Muller said the organization knows the importance of bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to address the homelessness crisis and was “happy to provide funding” to the city for Homebase.

“Our goal was to simply assist the mayor and city leadership in exploring new strategies to address homelessness in Gilroy,” Muller told San José Spotlight. “And to provide the resources that would allow them to do that in an inclusive fashion that also included a convener with technical expertise (such as Homebase), local service providers and people with lived experience.”

Councilmembers approved the Homebase consulting proposal in April, leading to the formation of the 10-person committee in May. Homebase was responsible for developing agendas and meeting materials in consultation with Bozzo, communicating with committee members, facilitating discussions, taking notes and assisting with follow-up and next steps. Homebase was also tasked with documenting the committee’s priorities and any implementation steps identified through that process.

City spokesperson Rachelle Bedell said Homebase provided technical assistance and facilitation as the committee examined Gilroy’s homelessness response, heard from people with lived experience and reviewed approaches used by other California communities, leading to the committee’s recommendation for a designated, managed site.

Homebase representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

No specific plan

McCauley, owner of Lazy Susan Designs and a member of the Gilroy Open Government Commission, said she is confident the committee can objectively provide a plan to address homelessness locally, with specific information on Gilroy’s demographics and solutions that won’t cause more fear.

“Being held to a high standard by critical councilmembers is an opportunity to elevate our solutions,” McCauley told San José Spotlight. “However, it should not be rushed. It should include revising city policy that is, as of now, only abatement.”

Bozzo said he appreciates the council’s direction and the ability to keep exploring the plan.

“My hope is that this work will help us better support people experiencing homelessness while responding to the needs and concerns of the broader community,” Bozzo told San José Spotlight. “We all want a Gilroy where people feel safe, supported and connected.”

The ad hoc committee’s lack of a plan looks to have resulted in collateral damage for the Camp Hope encampment.

Councilmembers voted 4-3 to sweep the camp by Dec. 15 with the understanding that the homeless residents would be offered shelter and services. Bozzo, Ramirez and Bracco voted against the plan.

The roughly 25 people living in the encampment, which is near the Sixth Street overpass along U.S. Highway 101, have been self-managing the camp for the last year, with occasional cleanups funded by the city. Councilmembers at last week’s meeting felt that the camp should not be treated differently than the rest of the city’s homeless population — which the recuento del punto más reciente en el tiempo in 2025 estimated to be 959 people.

Ashford, who is a Camp Hope advocate, said the decision seems counterproductive to the findings of the ad hoc committee, but she remains optimistic that the committee’s work will result in positive outcomes.

“I was concerned the whole time we met that Camp Hope was at risk without a solid proposal to keep it,” Ashford told San José Spotlight. “There needs to be a place for them to go, otherwise the businesses are going to be more upset than they already are. There are no perfect solutions.”

Comuníquese con Giovanni Albanese Jr. a través de [email protected].