The clearing of a major homeless encampment near San Jose’s Columbus Park has forced scores of unhoused residents to live together in squalid, cramped conditions. Over the last two months, the city has cleared about two-thirds of a 40-acre plot of city-owned land near Columbus Park. About 150 unhoused people, 200 vehicles—of which 53 are...
Santa Clara County student homelessness fluctuated during COVID
The number of homeless students dropped in Santa Clara County during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some districts are seeing an uptick in the number of students struggling with housing this school year. The number of homeless students in the county declined by 13% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, according to a report published...
Housing might replace shuttered Denny’s in Campbell
A 45-year-old local fixture in Campbell abruptly closed last month and could become a new housing development. The Denny’s restaurant at 2060 South Bascom Avenue in Campbell operated at the location since 1976. Two weeks ago, it shuttered with little notice. “We regret to inform you that as of 10/31/21 at 2 p.m., Denny’s has...
San Jose plan that limits development could be eliminated
A San Jose commission says it has the latest solution to traffic jams in the city’s east side: Stop development in the hills. The San Jose Planning Commission voted 9-1 this week to recommend eliminating an early-2000s era plan that limited homes and businesses in the city’s Evergreen and East Hills neighborhoods. Instead, future development...
Santa Clara County foster youth to help design new facility
Foster youth are getting a brand new community center with permanent housing in San Jose—and will have a say in its design. The Parkmoor Hub, being developed by Allied Housing, will include 81 units of affordable and supportive housing, with half for transitional-age foster youth and their children. It’s conveniently located near light rail, buses,...
Silicon Valley veteran homelessness reaches new milestone
Flags fly at half-mast each Nov. 11 to honor Veterans Day across the country. In Silicon Valley, fewer veterans will look at those flags while living on the streets. All the Way Home, a campaign launched in 2015 to help end the homeless veterans crisis, has housed 2,201 veterans during the past seven years. The...
Coordinated campaign kills interim housing proposal in Santa Clara
A coordinated effort by hundreds of Santa Clara residents successfully killed a proposal to build interim housing for unhoused families. In a unanimous vote, the Santa Clara City Council rejected a proposal to build 60 units of transitional housing at 2035 White Oak Lane. Councilmembers directed city employees to search for alternative sites. The proposal...
How one tiny home community gives San Jose families new life
Tucked behind the old San Jose City Hall, a tiny home community is lifting local families off the streets. A neighborhood of roughly 60 residents in 25 units, Casitas de Esperanza—or tiny homes of hope—is a model of how Santa Clara County can help some of the most vulnerable unhoused people, residents at the site...
How Google’s downtown campus will transform San Jose’s art landscape
This article was produced in a joint partnership between San José Spotlight and Content Magazine, a nonprofit print publication featuring the innovative and creative people of Silicon Valley. When Alexa Arena commutes to San Jose from her home in San Francisco, she often takes Caltrain. “The good news is when you’re sitting on a train,...
San Jose State offers beds to homeless students all year
San Jose State University students say the school is failing to provide emergency housing for those in need. The university agreed this week to extend its one-semester, 12-bed emergency program indefinitely, but students say they have to jump through hoops to receive services. “Requiring students to take out loans is making it impossible to get an emergency...