The story of a highly-popular food pantry facing closure appears to have a happy ending. After facing closure for having to pay San Jose up to $15,500 for a special use permit, the organization has raised enough funding overnight to remain open. The Lighthouse Ministries Food Pantry, which serves thousands of families, seniors, disabled and...
Homelessness
Homelessness
Santa Clara County looks for volunteers to tally unhoused population
After canceling the homeless count in 2021, Santa Clara County is looking for volunteers to help gather census data next month. The biennial count is critical for understanding the homelessness crisis and identifying the needs of people on the streets. The county opted to defer the 2021 count due to COVID-19. Advocates said the lack of information has...
San Jose homeless shelter sees COVID outbreak as omicron spreads
A COVID-19 outbreak has made its way to the Julian Street Inn housing site in downtown San Jose. This week, seven out of the 54 residents who live at the congregate shelter for homeless residents tested positive for COVID-19. This comes as positive infections are climbing in Santa Clara County as the omicron variant spreads....
Santa Clara County opens temporary shelter as cold weather persists
With more freezing temperatures and potential rain on the horizon, Santa Clara County has set up an overnight warming shelter for unhoused people in downtown San Jose. A new shelter opened Thursday night at the California Army National Guard building, located at 251 W. Hedding St. in San Jose. Shaunn Cartwright, a homeless advocate and...
Advocates rally to use Santa Clara County Fairgrounds to tackle homelessness
A coalition of advocates is pushing for Santa Clara County to open up 157 acres of public land on Tully Road to provide safe parking, encampments and services to those without a home amid an exploding homelessness crisis. The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds has been underutilized for years, as county officials attempted to revitalize it...
In annual speech, San Jose mayor says homelessness is city’s ‘biggest failure’
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo painted a realistic picture of the city’s failures while highlighting a hopeful future at his State of the City address on Thursday. In his seventh annual address, and second virtual speech, Liccardo discussed the city’s biggest issues. He focused on homelessness, public safety, community resiliency and environmental improvements. The city’s biggest failure...
‘Miserable’: San Jose homeless brace for cold, wet winter ahead of Christmas
Standing near her tent in San Jose’s Columbus Park with two dogs in her arms, Carole Roberts said the holiday season is not a joyful time of year. “It’s the worst time of the year, with the cold and the wind,” Roberts, who has been homeless for 13 years, told San José Spotlight. “Christmas is...
Evans Lane gives San Jose homeless a reason to celebrate the holidays
Christmas came a few days early at Evans Lane. The roughly 15 families staying at the interim housing site in West San Jose were invited to a Christmas celebration on Wednesday by the site’s provider, PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) services, and Councilmember Dev Davis. They were met with festive decorations, a masked-up COVID conscious...
Memorial honors 250 homeless deaths in Santa Clara County
Kelly Tasker, a grandmother at the age of 44, battled homelessness for nearly a decade. Through the help of the Compassion Center in Gilroy, Tasker found her first permanent apartment that would have given her a chance to get help with her chronic illness and lift her partner off the streets. But for Tasker, along...
Where can San Jose homeless residents warm up this winter?
San Jose is opening two temporary overnight warming centers to provide shelter for unhoused residents as temperatures continue to dip. The City Council voted unanimously this week to restart the annual program. The city picked two new locations this year, the Evergreen Branch Library on Aborn Road and the Leininger Center on Senter Road—both located in...