A transistor radio, a portable analog device with an antenna, is Mir Sayed’s connection to the world. The 93-year-old lives in a motel room in Sunnyvale and spends his days listening to his radio. He’s visually impaired, suffering from glaucoma and cataracts, and is hearing-impaired. Sayed’s housing situation is unstable and part of the longstanding issue...
San Jose struggles to reduce homeless count
San Jose’s unhoused population is not as big as initially reported, but the number of chronically homeless people continues to grow, new county data shows. A report released last month shows San Jose with 6,650 homeless people in 2022—a drop of roughly 100 people from when preliminary data was released in May. Despite the drop, the current homeless...
San Jose businesses frustrated by homelessness
Reza Farahani immigrated from Iran more than 20 years ago and opened his Lincoln Glass & Mirror business on Kruse Drive in North San Jose. He moved down the block a decade ago when his company expanded, but said in the last two years the surrounding neighborhood has become untenable because of rampant homelessness. Dozens of...
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Storm displaces San Jose homeless living along creeks
Geraldo Garcia had 10 minutes to pack his belongings, scramble into a car and leave his makeshift shelter near Coyote Creek. The threat of flooding from an unprecedented atmospheric river storm gave him barely enough time to grab his essentials. “I’m sad. I’m desperate. I really don’t know where to go,” Garcia said, who’s been living...
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San Jose secures $3M for homeless housing sites
San Jose is using its slice of a $1.7 trillion federal spending package to address ongoing homelessness. South Bay congressional leaders Ro Khanna, Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren have secured more than $3 million to fund case management, food services and security at two different temporary housing sites in San Jose—the SureStay Hotel and Marbury Bridge...
Hundreds of people died on Silicon Valley streets in 2022
As 2022 comes to a close, advocates are remembering the 246 homeless people who died on Silicon Valley streets. About 70 residents gathered in McEntee Plaza at Santa Clara County Government Center in San Jose Wednesday for a memorial service featuring rows of makeshift tombstones, each with the name of a homeless person who died...
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What happens to the homeless cleared from San Jose’s largest camp?
The encampment near Mineta San Jose International Airport is gone and a makeshift RV camp at Columbus Park is almost barren, but dozens of homeless residents still have no place to go as their futures remain uncertain. Dubbed by some as the “Field of Dreams,” the baseball field at the corner of Asbury and Irene...
VTA disputes San Jose’s plan for tiny homes
San Jose plans to move forward with building housing for homeless residents on VTA property, but there appears to be disagreement over the inevitability of the project. The City Council voted unanimously last week to pursue tiny home projects at the Cerone and Cottle VTA sites, located in North and South San Jose, respectively. Tiny...
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San Jose leaders lobby for transparency in homeless spending
San Jose officials want to make it easier for residents to track how the city is spending money on its growing homelessness crisis. Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, Mayor-elect Matt Mahan and Councilmember David Cohen want to launch a webpage showing the city’s efforts in solving homelessness. The site would include where funding comes from, which...
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San Jose gets millions for homeless motels. Where are the rooms?
San Jose has received millions from the state to add hundreds of permanent and temporary homes in an attempt to alleviate homelessness across the city. But progress is slow with only 76 units available so far. As of December, San Jose has received roughly $74 million from a state program to acquire four local motels...