Santa Clara County Homelessness Articles

California voters narrowly passed Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measure to fund mental health housing. He’s prodding counties to use the money quickly.

San Jose activists are rallying outside City Hall to protest a plan by officials to divert affordable housing money to shelters and sweeps.
The crowd gathered at 12:30 p.m., just an hour before the San Jose City Council is expected …

State officials are contradicting claims made by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in his push to redirect affordable housing money to homeless sweeps and shelters.
Mahan has argued the city faces $60,000 in daily fines per pollutant if the city …

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

San Jose housing commissioners had blistering words for a proposal to divert affordable housing money to shelters and sweeps.
The Housing and Community Development Commission on Thursday voted 6-2 to reject two spending proposals that would divert funds meant for …

San Jose needs millions of dollars it doesn't have to clear homeless residents from city waterways and place them into temporary shelter. Officials are considering raiding an affordable housing fund to make it happen.
The city manager is proposing two …

The California housing crisis is not only weakening the state politically at the national level, it could shift the political balance in Washington, D.C., as Republican-led states add population while California’s exodus continues.

A homeless housing project is coming to South San Jose, and city officials want to clear the area of unsheltered encampments before it's built.
The San Jose City Council this month unanimously approved a 10-year lease for $1 annually from …

A new bill would make it illegal for homeless residents to camp in certain places, such as near schools, throughout California. Its authors say such a ban has had great success in San Diego. But a closer look at that …

San Jose has until September to formulate a succinct plan on how it will address homelessness and begin publicly reporting spending data, according to an audit requested by a local legislator.
The California State Auditor has published its findings and …

Two San Jose councilmembers have an ambitious plan to house thousands of the city's homeless residents — but some of their colleagues say it will move the city backwards.
Councilmembers Bien Doan and Arjun Batra have proposed a pilot program …

One of Santa Clara County’s largest homeless service providers is stepping back from operating a 145-bed shelter in North County.
HomeFirst will stop operating the North County Shelter in Sunnyvale by the end of June, passing shelter operations to another …

San Jose officials have a daunting task of balancing the budget as they attempt to preserve city services with a $52.1 million shortfall.
The San Jose City Council unanimously approved Mayor Matt Mahan’s March budget message on Tuesday, but not …

Los Gatos Council last night approved $60,000 for homeless services next year—$10,000 more than staff had requested—citing the effectiveness of the pilot year’s efforts.

Santa Clara County officials may help finance San Jose’s multimillion-dollar safe parking efforts and set up more sites on unused public property for the region's homeless residents.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed on Tuesday to look into both possibilities …

A development site for homeless residents in South San Jose is blanketed in blue tarps to get rid of mold from months of neglect.
After San José Spotlight broke the story on Sunday about pre-built homes arriving unfinished and in …

A multimillion-dollar project to put homeless people in pre-built housing — that San Jose officials championed as cheap and revolutionary — is delayed due to homes arriving unfinished.
The $70-million three-story modular housing project that San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan …

About 40 homeless people are tucked away on a small parcel of land adjacent to busy Highway 237.
The encampment sits on the same location where Microsoft plans to construct two data centers in San Jose near the Milpitas border. …

Sunnyvale officials are prioritizing what local issues they'll tackle this year, and topics like homelessness and transit safety are topping the list.
The Sunnyvale City Council ranked its priority projects out of the 40 proposed on Feb. 15, signaling what …

For every one Santa Clara County household that was housed in 2023, nearly two households became homeless, a recent report reveals.
Approximately 4,297 new households experienced homelessness for the first time last year, according to the county’s year-end analysis of …