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Special from Bay City News Foundation Editor’s note: This story is the first in a series exploring the deaths of homeless people in Santa Clara County — who the victims were, how they died and what might be done to save the lives of people few may remember. Deaths among homeless people in Santa Clara County have...
Habitat for Humanity to build 308 new shelter beds in San Jose
San Jose is about to get more than 300 new interim shelter beds in modular housing units, built by Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, officials announced Thursday. The new modular homes will serve as emergency housing for homeless residents and allow those who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus to isolate during the...
San Jose homeless trailer park residents forced out after three weeks
Homeless residents living inside trailers at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo set up for those with COVID-19 or at risk of contracting the deadly virus were evicted after three weeks when the trailer park was suddenly shut down on Monday. The residents were moved into hotels instead. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve...
Watch: A live chat with current and formerly homeless ‘In Your Backyard’ columnists
Six months after our first ‘In Your Backyard’ column was published, the country and San Jose are in turmoil. As the pandemic and homelessness crises converge, it has become clear a lot more people are a lot more vulnerable than we thought. The columns we published from people who have faced homelessness and prevailed have...
South Bay homeless residents feel the pain of VTA’s service cuts
Since the coronavirus pandemic first swept across Santa Clara County, the region’s top transit agency — the Valley Transportation Authority — has made massive cuts to its bus and light rail service as transit ridership has plummeted. But for many who don’t have cars and primarily rely on public transit to get around, adjusting to...
UPDATE: San Jose OKs trailers for homeless residents amid COVID-19
Already facing a severe housing shortage, San Jose leaders worry the newest crisis plaguing the region — the coronavirus pandemic — will spread among its homeless community, one of the city’s most vulnerable populations. With more than 6,000 unhoused residents in the city, lawmakers are ramping up their efforts to contain the virus. As part...
‘Forgotten heroes’: The plight of Silicon Valley homeless shelter workers
Employees who work at Silicon Valley’s homeless shelters are putting themselves on the frontlines of the pandemic to protect the county’s most vulnerable residents, even as many live on the margins themselves. Two homeless service providers in Santa Clara County told San José Spotlight that, between them, six of their hundreds of shelter workers have...
San Jose residents protest temporary homeless housing plan
More than 200 South San Jose residents and housing advocates spoke at a virtual town hall Monday night to express concern or applaud a plan to fast-track dozens of new housing units for homeless residents during the region’s shelter-in-place order due to the coronavirus pandemic. “As a city, we really have two emergencies on our...
Surviving the pandemic: How to get into a homeless shelter in Silicon Valley
With nearly 10,000 homeless residents sleeping on Santa Clara County’s streets every night, regional leaders say they’re concerned the novel coronavirus could rapidly spread among one of the county’s most vulnerable populations. County leaders have ramped up their efforts to protect the homeless community from a massive outbreak in the South Bay, which quickly emerged as a...
Santa Clara County: basic income pilot, Civic Center homeless housing plans move forward
A wide range of residents — from business and nonprofit leaders to aged-out foster youth and property owners — could benefit from Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ actions Tuesday. The supervisors approved multiple items related to COVID-19, including plans to start preparing for a reopened economy, a pilot income program for former foster youth...