San Jose is moving forward with plans to clear large camps of homeless people and prevent them from returning.
Sweeps are planned from June 16 to June 30 to clear encampments where dozens of people are living in tents along the Guadalupe River from West Taylor Street to Interstate 880. The city plans to sweep Columbus Park next month — where homeless residents are living in more than 80 vehicles and RVs — and expects to finish clearing the site by October. Once the areas are cleared, the city will implement no encampment zones to keep people from setting up camp again.
The city originally planned to clear Columbus Park at the end of the year. But Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services spokesperson Amanda Rodriguez said the area has become increasingly unsafe.
“Columbus Park has become one of the largest and most challenging encampments in San Jose,” Rodriguez told San José Spotlight. “Conditions have deteriorated to the point where it is unsafe for the people living there, city and nonprofit staff providing services and the surrounding community.”
Homeless residents have been pushed into Columbus Park due to the temporary RV bans across the city. The park was completely cleared out three years ago because it sits under the flight path of San Jose Mineta International Airport, after the Federal Aviation Administration threatened to withhold millions in federal funding.
Once swept, the city plans to transform the dilapidated space into a park with synthetic soccer fields, courts for horseshoe, futsal, basketball and pickleball, picnic areas and a play area for children.
Homeless people living in the area don’t know where they will go next. Gabrielle Aguirre said the impending Columbus Park sweep has made her feel stressed. She’s been consolidating her belongings and trying to find someone with a truck to tow her inoperable trailer out. Aguirre said she’s received no offers for housing.
“It’s really depressing,” Aguirre, 42, told San José Spotlight. “It’s hard losing the little you have. We’re just trying to get back on our feet.”
Rodriguez said Columbus Park is a focus area for consistent outreach and support. She said HomeFirst regularly visit the park to offer services and build relationships.
“Their team provides street-based case management, helps individuals enroll in the Homeless Management Information System and encourages them to contact the Here4You hotline for information about shelter opportunities,” she said.
District 6 Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, whose represents the areas getting swept, did not respond to a request for comment.
Todd Langton, executive director of Agape Silicon Valley, has made several trips to the Guadalupe River trail in the past week to talk to the people who will be swept.
“I’ve spoken so many of them (and) none of them have been offered housing,” Langton told San José Spotlight. “(Mayor Matt Mahan) has brainwashed (citizens) into thinking that all the unhoused have a place to go, and they’re refusing shelter. And that is an outright lie.”
The city aims to add more than 1,400 shelter beds and spaces this year, but that’s not enough for the roughly 5,500 people who are unsheltered. Four temporary housing sites with a combined 524 beds or spaces have come online in the past year, including Pacific Motor Inn last August, the Branham Lane modular site in February, the Berryessa safe parking site last month and Via del Oro in April. Officials recently approved the mayor’s plan to allow police to arrest homeless people for refusing shelter.
Bill Wells, 55, has been pitching his tent around the Guadalupe River near Hedding Street for two decades. He’s put all his belongings in a cart in anticipation of the sweep. He doesn’t know where he’ll go next.
“I can’t pull myself out of it on my own. I need help,” Wells told San José Spotlight. “I’d like to get one of these tiny homes (so) I could work. I’m a hard worker.”
Wells wants to find work in a restaurant or kitchen, but not having somewhere to shower makes it difficult to get a job, he said. He’s also apprehensive about leaving his two dogs unattended, and finding shelter that will accommodate both dogs can be tricky.
He’s skeptical he’ll be offered housing, even though others around him have obtained shelter.
“Nobody has been out here longer than me,” he said. “I don’t know how they judge who needs what and who gets what.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.
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