Homeless residents in Sunnyvale will be able to find local shelter from the elements this winter instead of going beyond city limits to get out of the cold.
The Sunnyvale City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a pilot program to book up to 10 hotel rooms at Extended Stay America Suites on Orleans Drive. Homeless residents can take shelter from storms for up to 20 nights. Participants will get two meals a day and can be connected to supportive services. The program could launch as soon as next week and is expected to run until April.
Councilmember Alysa Cisneros has been pushing the city to launch a cold weather shelter since 2022. She said she’s glad to see it come to fruition this winter because it can save lives.
“We in Sunnyvale leadership should be ashamed of ourselves and understand our failure as leaders every time somebody dies on our streets,” Cisneros told San José Spotlight. “This is meaningful, this is going to bring that mortality rate down immediately this winter.”
Homeless people die every year from hypothermia, hyperthermia and other ailments related to overexposure. So far this year, 190 homeless people have died in Santa Clara County, according to the county coroner’s office. Last year, 201 homeless people died.
Hotel rooms will become available when Santa Clara County officials declare an inclement weather event, such as when the National Weather Service announces a cold weather warning or during continuous rainfall. At that time, Sunnyvale’s homeless outreach team run by WeHOPE would prioritize getting people into hotel rooms.
The city budgeted $73,185 for this year’s program, with about $12,000 in contingency funding in case more rooms are needed for more nights. Homeless Services Manager Amanda Sztoltz said the city could consider making the program permanent if it’s successful.
Inclement weather programs run through a hotel are unusual. Santa Clara County does not run a hotel program, but it oversees two cold weather shelters. The Mountain View shelter has 30 beds and serves single women and families from Nov. 1 to April 15. The shelter in Gilroy can serve up to 35 families and will be open from Dec. 18 to March 15.
San Jose has two overnight warming shelters with 30 beds each. Jeff Scott, spokesperson for San Jose’s housing department, said the locations opened on Dec. 2 and will be open every night through April 30.
Multiple homeless and formerly homeless residents spoke about their experiences at the council meeting. Jennifer, who didn’t give her last name, said she had been homeless for 16 months and the hotel program could have provided relief.
“If permanent housing cannot be provided, then temporary housing during inclement weather is essential,” she said. “There is no quick cure for the homeless epidemic.”
Sunnyvale has recently moved forward on multiple supportive services for homeless residents, including contracting for a mobile shower and laundry services through WeHOPE and approving policies allowing for safe parking sites for people living in their vehicles.
“I appreciate the city’s newfound urgency on the issue of homelessness that we’ve seen, especially starting this fiscal year. We have seen a major shift in the city’s approach,” Councilmember Richard Mehlinger said. “I’m really glad we’re adopting this program, but I have to say that the need to do so speaks to failures at all levels of society and government. This program is necessary but it’s far, far from sufficient.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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