Creating sanctioned encampments, treating mentally ill and addicted homeless populations and creating an equitable strategy for housing the poor were some of the ideas raised at Monday’s joint meeting on homelessness between the San Jose City Council and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. In a rare occurrence, the two bodies joined forces to...
Housing
Housing
San Jose Housing Crisis: Councilmember Raul Peralez evicted from his home
As a renter in the Silicon Valley, no one is completely safe from eviction — not even elected leaders. Three weeks ago San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez and his family were evicted from their rental home of nine years after their landlord decided to sell the property and retire. The family, including Peralez’s six-month-old son,...
‘We’re not done’: Hope Village homeless residents move out of motels
After a month of living in motels, more than a dozen former homeless residents of Hope Village are being moved again. When the contract for Hope Village — a now-closed sanctioned homeless encampment near the San Jose Mineta International airport — expired on March 30, housing officials with Santa Clara County’s Office of Supportive Housing decided...
Four East San Jose families sue landlord for “wrongful” eviction
Four San Jose families who lived in a multi-unit apartment complex filed a lawsuit Friday accusing their former landlord of harassment and wrongful eviction, saying that they were driven out in an attempt to replace them for new tenants paying a higher rent. The apartment complex is located at 1558 Crucero Drive in East San...
San Jose could be exempt from CEQA for homeless housing under proposed bill
In what could be another tool to address homelessness in San Jose, state representatives for the city are hoping to pass an amended bill that will exempt certain regulations for building homeless shelters. Assembly Bill 143 amends existing laws to grant cities and counties an exemption from certain building regulations and environmental analysis under the...
San Jose housing developers voice concern with Ellis Act
Ramon Navarro Johnson lost his rent-controlled apartment in 2015 when his landlord decided to charge market rate. “I was abruptly displaced from my home, could not find other affordable housing options (and) ended up homeless for a year and a half,” he said. Johnson now has stable housing, but said he still suffers the effects of his...
Bay Area has third largest homeless population in U.S., new report says
A new report on homelessness shows that the Bay Area has the third largest homeless population in the country, with 28,200 people in the region experiencing homelessness. According to the latest annual report on the state’s homelessness by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, homelessness in the Bay Area is just behind Los Angeles, with about...
Santa Clara County paid $13,000 a day to house homeless after project delay
Downtown San Jose’s first long-term affordable housing development, Second Street Studios, is set to open this month, but unexpected delays forced Santa Clara County to pay up to $1.15 million in motel costs for the future residents. The first-of-its kind project — meant to address the growing homelessness crisis — will house 134 individuals, considered some...
Silicon Valley housing shortage worsens for lowest-income earners
Only 22 out of every 100 households in California’s lowest income bracket have access to available and affordable housing, according to the most recent annual report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. That means the state’s poorest people can’t find a place to live — something which the report points out is a pattern...
They wear bright shirts and clean downtown. Who are the Groundwerx crews?
You’ve probably seen them out before, in bright colored t-shirts and rubber gloves, pushing wheeled trash cans through the quiet streets of downtown during the day. The concept behind the work — to regain a sense of purpose, after years of living on the streets have left them with little hope. There aren’t many waitlists...