Los Gatos seniors wait patiently to pick two food items, while eyeing tables piled with essentials such as meat and bread. Then it’s a free-for-all as roughly 70 participants load their arms and bags with groceries for the week. Janet Penney, 75 in June, sits down to chat with her friends and munch on banana...
Sunnyvale shelter gets new management, service model
A county-owned, 145-bed homeless shelter in Sunnyvale is changing operators and the community it serves. The Bill Wilson Center will become the new homeless service provider for the Sunnyvale Shelter starting in July, after receiving unanimous approval on May 21 on a potential $5 million contract from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. County...
San Jose motel residents move to other housing options
A San Jose program that put homeless people up in motels is ending, and participants aren’t thrilled with their options for where to go next. The city created the Temporary Housing Access Program in summer 2022 to provide rooms to unhoused residents enrolled in its employment program while the city was building emergency temporary housing in the parking lot of...
San Jose officials demand audit of homeless services
Spurred by a state audit that found San Jose spent more than $300 million on homelessness response, two officials want the city to conduct its own audit of how much is being spent on homeless services and programs. Councilmembers Bien Doan and Arjun Batra are hoping the information will give them a clearer picture of...
‘Where do I go?’: San Jose homeless residents living along creeks dread future
Butch Larson has been homeless for more than a decade. He’s set up camp across from Hampton Inn on Cherry Avenue near the Guadalupe River in San Jose, a spot he’s called home for three years that will be swept sooner than later. His makeshift home is a large tarp held up by sticks, his floor...
Silicon Valley nonprofit shutters homeless support group
A homeless support group in San Jose is closing down, and members are unsure about whether they will be able to continue their work. Sacred Heart Community Service shuttered its homelessness organizing committee, Survivors of the Streets (SOS), and let go of the group’s organizer, citing dwindling resources. This loss comes at a pivotal moment...
UPDATE: San Jose residents speak out against diverting affordable housing funds
In the face of the growing housing crisis, San Jose residents are urging elected officials to preserve funds for permanent affordable housing. The San Jose City Council is considering reallocating housing funds from Measure E, a property transfer tax approved by voters in 2020, to instead support and shelter homeless residents in the short term....
‘Absolutely stunned’: San Jose mayor inflates costs of not sweeping homeless camps
State officials are contradicting claims made by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in his push to redirect affordable housing money to homeless sweeps and shelters. Mahan has argued the city faces $60,000 in daily fines per pollutant if the city doesn’t address pollution from homeless encampments near creeks by June 2025. It’s driving his renewed...
San Jose commissioners oppose diverting housing funds
San Jose housing commissioners had blistering words for a proposal to divert affordable housing money to shelters and sweeps. The Housing and Community Development Commission on Thursday voted 6-2 to reject two spending proposals that would divert funds meant for permanent affordable housing to clear and temporarily shelter homeless people living along city waterways. Commissioners...
San Jose mulls diverting affordable housing funds — again
San Jose needs millions of dollars it doesn’t have to clear homeless residents from city waterways and place them into temporary shelter. Officials are considering raiding an affordable housing fund to make it happen. The city manager is proposing two options for the 2024-25 budget that would divert monies out of Measure E, an affordable housing fund,...