With a COVID-19 positive case forcing a quarantine and temporary closure of CityTeam’s kitchen, the San Jose nonprofit is scrambling to make sure its annual Christmas Day feast doesn’t sour. “We normally feed the homeless every day,” said CityTeam spokesperson Darlene Tenes. “But Christmas Day is a particularly special day because we invite them all...
Homelessness
Homelessness
Plenty of trash but little cash in San Jose program to pay homeless to pick up garbage
Weeks after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced a program to pay homeless people cash to pick up garbage around the city, people in the program say trash was left piling up and they weren’t paid for weeks — until San José Spotlight asked about it. On Dec. 19, a day after an inquiry from...
Tombstones honor 196 homeless people who died in Silicon Valley
Row after row of makeshift tombstones filled a plaza outside a county building in San Jose, each with the name of a homeless person who died on the streets of Silicon Valley this past year. “If we don’t do this, then people just don’t recognize the enormity of the problem and how many people are...
San Jose clears homeless camp despite concerns over COVID-19
San Jose started dismantling a homeless encampment this week to make way for an upcoming trail renovation, flouting health recommendations and stoking fears the action will lead to the spread of COVID-19. While placing people in housing is the best option, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends allowing people in encampments to stay...
Housing program for South Bay veterans marks milestone
During the past five years, Destination: Home and its partners have housed 1,940 homeless veterans, making strides towards eliminating veteran homelessness in Santa Clara County. By partnering with San Jose, Santa Clara County and nonprofit organizations, Destination: Home said it reached a milestone this year: for the first time, it housed more veterans — 341...
Santa Clara County permanent supportive housing project sees success
Santa Clara County may have just gotten one step closer to solving chronic homelessness. According to a recent study by the UCSF Benioff Housing and Homeless Initiative, permanent supportive housing has been successful in housing the county’s most impaired and desperate homeless individuals, including frequent users of emergency medical and psychiatric services and jails. Researchers...
At new San Jose shelter, Newsom announces $200 million more for homeless housing
Governor Gavin Newsom announced $200 million in additional funding for Project Homekey, a program to house the homeless, and joined Mayor Sam Liccardo Oct. 23 on Bernal Road in San Jose to celebrate the opening of one of three new emergency interim housing centers. Homekey funding has made it possible for California cities to build...
Measure A housing not moving fast enough, oversight committee says
Asserting housing isn’t getting built fast enough with funds raised by the Measure A housing bond, an independent oversight committee is urging Santa Clara County to find ways to speed things up. The Measure A bond, passed in 2016, so far has generated $421 million for new projects. In March, the county allocated $137 million...
Santa Clara County seeks funds to buy hotels to house homeless
As Santa Clara County’s homeless population continues to grow, county officials are moving to turn more hotel properties into permanent and interim housing. The county is vying for $19 million in state CARES Act funds through California’s project Homekey to purchase and refurbish two hotel properties and turn them into interim housing for the most...
New panel begins to tackle emergency needs of homeless in Santa Clara County
Even as long-term solutions for homelessness in Santa Clara County gain momentum and support, emergency measures are lacking and likely will get worse. That was the grim reality presented to the county’s Unhoused Task Force, which held its initial meeting Sept. 9. Proposed by Supervisor Dave Cortese earlier this year, the group aims to address...