Anthony Domondon has congestive heart failure, diabetes and HIV – but that wasn’t enough for a hotel room under the state’s program for COVID-19 vulnerable homeless people. “Basically they want me in a body bag before they give me a hotel room,” Domondon told San José Spotlight. Sitting on a curb outside a now-closed Office...
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San Jose cuts water in park with large homeless population, blames needles
A San Jose park that’s home to nearly 200 homeless residents was suddenly left without water — and city leaders initially suggested needles were to blame for clogging the drain. The water has since been restored by reopening one of the park’s two restrooms. It’s a critical need, advocates say, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic....
Bay Area living out of reach for some VTA transit workers who sleep in their cars
After a long day of driving a transit bus all over Silicon Valley, Bernard Glinton curls up for a night of rest — in his SUV. The longtime bus driver has slept in his SUV for the last two years to save costs and give himself some much-needed rest. “There’s tons of people who are commuting because...
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UPDATE: San Jose expands services for homeless amid COVID-19
Faced with an uptick in homeless deaths amid the pandemic, city leaders expanded shelter services for San Jose’s unhoused residents. The San Jose City Council on Jan. 12 unanimously adopted a $11.3 million expenditure plan for its Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program, which provides homeless outreach and shelter services citywide. The budget approval allows the city...
Death of San Jose man spurs questions about homeless shelter capacity
On a cold and rain-soaked December night, Ruben Eldridge Hill slept beneath the entrance of an empty office building in downtown San Jose. And by 11:40 a.m. the next morning, the 55-year-old man, who’d lived on the streets for years, was dead. No one knows yet what caused Hill’s death. But many agree that his...
Food trucks rescue Christmas dinner for San Jose homeless
A sea of RVs lined the road to CityTeam’s men’s shelter in San Jose, where the nonprofit distributed its annual Christmas Day dinner. Among them were two food trucks. Having to change plans after a case of COVID-19 was identified at the shelter and kitchen, the organization had 48 hours to find a way to...
How San Jose homeless shelters are adapting to the COVID-19 surge
COVID-19 has been tearing through sheltered living spaces in San Jose, but at least one operator of such facilities has managed to keep all of its women residents safe during the pandemic. CityTeam, which offers temporary housing to people in need, has so far kept its four women’s shelters in San Jose COVID-free, although it has had...
COVID-19 tries to cancel Christmas dinner for San Jose homeless — but fails
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...
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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...