Two projects in Santa Clara County are receiving federal funds to renovate housing for farmworkers and homeless veterans.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren helped secure $2.6 million for the county, with $1 million going toward repairs on blighted buildings that house homeless veterans, and $1.6 million for housing and electrical upgrades for farmworkers to meet code compliance. Congressman Ro Khanna also helped in securing the funding for homeless veterans.
“As someone who actually helped found and run a nonprofit housing development corporation before I ever ran for public office, I do understand how difficult it is to provide housing for people who don’t have a lot of money,” Lofgren said at a Wednesday news conference in San Jose. “We need to assist projects such as these two that meet special needs.”
Last fall, the county acquired an emergency facility for homeless veterans on 10 Kirk Ave. that was set to be sold for redevelopment. Formerly homeless veterans at the site have for years lived with bed bugs, black mildew, fire hazards and a lack of warm water, and have relied on outdated evacuation plans, disconnected fire sprinklers and unsafe electrical systems. The $1 million in federal funding will help support time sensitive repairs on the buildings, Lofgren said. Repairs include fixing plumbing, installing a new HVAC system, commercial kitchen upgrades and mold remediation.
“The county became concerned that the facility’s condition wasn’t satisfactory, so we began to explore ways in which we could acquire it and then work with the operator to improve the property over time so that the operator could continue to provide this critical service,” Deputy County Executive Ky Le previously told San José Spotlight.
The $1.6 million for farmworker housing will address years of inadequate housing and resources as the low-income workers struggle to make ends meet. It will upgrade non-complaint housing to meet code and be energy efficient, according to Lofgren’s office.
The county has 8,000 farmworkers on an annual basis, with 1,400 seasonal workers and 700 year-round workers without housing at any given time, Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said, adding that even some of the housing available to farmworkers is substandard. Arenas led the county to adopt a work plan last year to address issues with farmworker housing.
“I’m just immensely grateful that this $1.6 million is going to go toward rehabilitating a lot of the infrastructures that are in our county currently that might be in our code enforcement pipeline, and now have a chance to really correct the problems that they’re facing because of lack of resources,” Arenas said.
County Executive James Williams thanked Lofgren for helping secure funding for these projects.
“These funds will go toward critical projects to improve housing for farmworkers and help veterans experiencing homelessness get back on their feet, and they support two of the county’s top policy priorities: improving access to housing and promoting sustainability,” Williams said.
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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