San Jose’s mayor wants to up the ante and divert millions more from Measure E funds toward homeless solutions. The City Council — at the direction of Mayor Matt Mahan — is considering whether to upend its original plans for Measure E spending. Last year, council voted to spend 75% of Measure E dollars on...
Silicon Valley water district sponsors state bill to help house homeless people
A new state bill would give the Santa Clara Valley Water District expanded authority to help thousands of homeless people living along creeks, streams and other district lands find housing and services. District officials say Assembly Bill 1469 would add language to the district’s governing act specifying it can assist unsheltered people, allowing it to play a...
UPDATE: San Jose college students protest mayor’s homeless plans
Holding signs reading “Stop Sweeping Us Under the Rug” and “Keep People Housed,” two San Jose State University student groups protested at City Hall today against how the city is handling homelessness. Students for Fair Housing and Students Against Sweeps are demanding a more humanitarian approach to Mayor Matt Mahan’s homeless policies. They are asking...
San Jose budget could reallocate affordable housing funds
San Jose voters passed a property transfer tax to help fund affordable housing, but the mayor wants to reallocate more than 50% of those dollars for other uses. The city manager’s budget unreleased proposal, obtained by San José Spotlight, shows that $38 million of the $70 million in Measure E funds earmarked for affordable housing...
San Jose opens homeless housing site in police parking lot
Dozens of homeless residents will be able to get off the streets, as new interim housing opens near the doorstep of the San Jose Police Department. The Guadalupe Emergency Interim Housing site, located on a former SJPD parking lot, opened Wednesday. Housing advocates and elected officials said it’s the latest project in the city’s attempt to...
Santa Clara County scores millions in HUD funding
Millions of federal dollars are funneling into Santa Clara County to help shelter and support those experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an $11 million one-time grant to the Santa Clara County Continuum of Care coalition—a group of local government, private and nonprofit partners dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness....
San Jose breaks ground on prefab homeless housing
San Jose is breaking ground on a unique transitional housing site that will support hundreds of homeless residents when complete. Preparation is underway for a three-story, prefabricated modular project on Branham Lane and Monterey Road in the south part of the city. Planning for the site in District 2 began in 2021. It will open in April 2024 with...
San Jose mayor proposes homeless ban in parts of city
San Jose’s mayor has faced criticism for his plan to ban homeless residents from setting up camp in certain parts of the city, but he believes it’s only because people don’t fully understand it. As part of his March budget message, Mayor Matt Mahan asked the city to explore enacting no encampment zones, which would prohibit homeless camps in...
A new push to move San Jose homeless from Coyote Creek
Valley Water is shelling out millions for San Jose to clear out homeless residents living along Coyote Creek. The $4.8 million contract with the city comes as the water agency prepares to build out mandated flood protection measures along a nine-mile stretch of the creek following the devastating 2017 floods. The nearly 120 to 200 homeless people living along the waterway...
San Jose braces for bill criminalizing homelessness
When Jade Sweeney surveys the area where she slept in south San Jose just last week, she not only feels sad—she feels violated. She said her belongings were taken and discarded by city workers following a sweep of her camp. She’s lived in San Jose for more than 50 years and became homeless last year....