A former veterans housing site is set to become a Santa Clara County-run pretrial jail diversion facility for homeless residents charged with non-violent crimes.
County and city officials began discussing the sale of 1072 & 1082 Vermont Street, known as the Vermont House, last year when they told housing provider Abode Services to start vacating residents. The San Jose City Council is expected to approve the sale for $310,000 on Tuesday. Councilmembers rejected selling the Monterey/Bernal tiny home site at 6066 Monterey Road to the county for a similar jail diversion program earlier this year after backlash from nearby residents about safety concerns.
While officials advised Abode to vacate the housing site, which has room for 16 people, a “debilitating flood” forced the four remaining veterans to leave the property. They were relocated into permanent housing, Santa Clara County Deputy Executive Ky Le said.
Costly improvements need to be made before it can be occupied by program participants.
Stephanie Ligsay, president of the nearby College Park Neighborhood Association, said the group advised against using the facility for a jail diversion program in community meetings with Councilmember Dev Davis, who represents the area. Ligsay said association members feel there’s no concrete plan for ensuring their safety.
Davis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Ligsay said she’s not opposed to housing programs supporting parents or youth, but she’s concerned about pretrial jail diversion housing for homeless residents accused of crimes.
“They seemingly lack a plan to discipline any of the people in the program,” Ligsay told San José Spotlight. “If someone shows up intoxicated coming back to the facility and they’re turned away, where are they going to go? They’re in the middle of the neighborhood and that was our primary concern.”
Le said the Vermont House will be run by county behavioral health workers 24/7, and they will meet with the city about increasing staffing.
Jail diversion program participants have not been sentenced or convicted of a crime, according to county officials, and the accused crimes are not related to murder, voluntary manslaughter or sexual assault.
“All of the individuals will be there because they meet clinical criteria, so they are appropriate for that type of setting,” Le told San José Spotlight. “All of them will be there because our justice system partners — whether it be the district attorney, the police or the courts — do not require them to be detained.”
He said the program will benefit county and city residents. Of the existing jail diversion participants, 91% have engaged in treatment, according to county officials.
“We need more temporary housing and treatment facility options for people with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder,” Le said.
Lived Experience Advisory Board of Silicon Valley member Gabriela Gabrian is recovering from substance use disorder. Gabrian said she understands the need to address non-violent homeless residents in the criminal justice system with nowhere to go when released, but said housing shouldn’t come at the expense of veterans.
“The veterans’ home was built and restored with Habitat for Humanity for the specific purpose of serving our most treasured community members, our veterans,” Gabrian told San José Spotlight.
Housing provider Habitat for Humanity wrapped up renovations on the Vermont House in 2018 after San Jose city officials indicated they wanted to keep the property for housing veterans.
County officials said veterans eligible for the jail diversion program will be prioritized.
Issa Ajlouny, president of Safety Advocate for Empowering Residents, or S.A.F.E.R. San Jose, was critical of the county’s failed plan for the Monterey/Bernal tiny home site. He said the budding jail diversion programs are a direct result of the failure of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
“We voted for new jails, got tax increases, paid for them and they tore down the jail — then they said they’re not going to build a new jail. That’s just so wrong,” Ajlouny told San José Spotlight. “Now they’re trying to make the jails in little places here and there around the city instead of having locked facilities.”
Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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