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A new report bolsters the importance of guaranteed basic income programs as a lifeline for families in Santa Clara County who can’t afford the necessities. More than a quarter of working families in the county do not make enough money to cover their basic needs, according to a recent study from Joint Venture Silicon Valley....
UPDATE: South San Jose slated to get more homeless housing
San Jose is taking an offer from a legendary South Bay philanthropist to ease the city’s transitional housing shortage. The San Jose City Council today unanimously approved a five-year lease for $1 annually from John A. Sobrato to construct Via del Oro, a 150-bed interim housing project, on land he owns. Via del Oro will...
Bramson: It’s more than just a disaster if you don’t have a home
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southeastern United States. All told, the costliest disaster in U.S. history ultimately claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people. But it was not until the storm passed and the waters finally receded that the true extent of the destruction was fully revealed for the people who called the...
Will social housing in Silicon Valley find funding to break ground?
A local assemblyman’s goal of establishing social housing in California is one signature away from fruition, but lingering questions remain about how these projects will be funded. Assembly Bill 309 author Assemblymember Alex Lee said social housing—a method where governments own, manage and maintain homes designed as affordable housing—will help alleviate California’s housing crunch. But...
Bramson: Building our way out of local control
The question of who puts what where in a given community is an interesting one. For decades, the authority of land use — the power to decide whether or not commercial, residential, industrial and a host of other possibilities are allowed on a given parcel — has fallen to the municipal government where the plot...
Silicon Valley water district helps the homeless and environment
Valley Water is introducing two new approaches to combating pollution created by homeless encampments near creeks—portable toilets and debit cards. The water district announced earlier this week that it will place portable toilets and wash stations at 20 key sites near homeless encampments along the creeks through an initiative called the Portable Toilet Facilities Program....
San Jose lags on low-income housing goals
San Jose is failing to meet its affordable housing goals for six years running as the city’s housing crisis worsens. City staff introduced an ever-evolving two-year plan during Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting to get through 130 projects listed in its housing element, the city’s blueprint for addressing housing needs through 2031. The goal:...
Bramson: Calling the question on criminalization
Sometimes, when things get bleak, we need to look back to move forward. In 1939, John Steinbeck published “The Grapes of Wrath.” Set during the Great Depression, the story follows the Joad family, Oklahoma farmers who were forced to leave their land due to economic hardships. A few years earlier and across the pond in...
Bramson: The next San Jose housing director
“The city of San Jose offers a career capstone opportunity for leaders in housing and human services. With compelling financial resources, political, and organizational support, the selected candidate will have the opportunity to make generational impacts on the lives of many.” So reads the opening lines of the recruitment brochure for the new housing director...
Santa Clara County homeless students to get guaranteed income
Karen Tanveer is a recent high school graduate, except unlike some of her peers, she has dealt with homelessness her whole life. But a new county guaranteed income program will give local students like her financial relief. Santa Clara County is set to give 50 homeless high school students $1,200 for three months, as well as peer...