Homelessness

Homelessness

San Jose to lease VTA lot for safe parking program

Unhoused people living in their RVs will soon be able to sleep safely at a sanctioned location in South San Jose. City officials told homeless advocates this week that San Jose is almost ready to sign a 5-year lease with VTA to start a new safe parking program at the Santa Teresa station’s parking lot. The...

San Jose escalates efforts to clear homeless encampment

With the deadline to clear one of the Bay Area’s largest homeless camps looming, San Jose has started towing cars and RVs near Columbus Park this week—a move that has prompted concern from advocates and homeless residents. With no advance notice, the city put up towing signs throughout the 18 acres area near Columbus Park...

Homeless advocates claim Milpitas mayor stonewalls solutions

The homeless crisis in Milpitas might be headed for a dead end. Some officials and advocates blame the mayor for exacerbating the problem. Milpitas, a city of roughly 80,000 people, started to see its homeless population balloon during the COVID-19 pandemic. An encampment behind the city’s library, one of the largest camps in Milpitas, has grown to...

Santa Clara starts task force to study homelessness

Santa Clara is assembling a task force aimed at tackling homelessness within the city and needs recruits. The city is working with San Francisco nonprofit Homebase to examine the needs and service gaps for the unhoused by creating a task force and strategic plan. The task force will be comprised of four to eight members, including...

Law group probes complaints at San Jose affordable housing site

Complaints are emerging at a San Jose affordable housing complex—and housing lawyers are taking notice. Attorneys with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley said several clients face eviction from Renascent Place, a housing site for chronically homeless and disabled people. The law group has heard complaints about property management firm John Stewart Company deactivating room keycards, maintenance workers entering...

Homeless advocates pitch tents at Milpitas City Hall

Pitched tents surrounded Milpitas City Hall Monday night, where advocates for the unhoused staged a campout to address the city’s ongoing homeless crisis. At tonight’s City Council meeting, recommendations will be heard from the Milpitas homeless task force over an issue riling up the community on both sides. While some elected officials such as Councilmembers...

Silicon Valley homeless tally guaranteed to be an undercount

As hundreds of volunteers went out before dawn to tally the number of people living on Silicon Valley streets this week, advocates say many are being left out of the count. The point-in-time homeless census count is part of a requirement for Santa Clara County to receive federal funding. The two-day event in Silicon Valley involves volunteers, lawmakers and advocates searching...

San Jose homeless wary of housing at police parking lot

After decades of criminalizing the homeless—often profiling and citing individuals—San Jose now wants to house them. The San Jose City Council announced last October that a parking lot at the San Jose Police Department headquarters along Guadalupe Parkway would serve as a site for temporary homeless housing. City officials broke ground on Feb. 9 and...