Santa Clara County Homelessness Digest

The San Jose City Council passed laws to ban homeless encampments near schools and placed restrictions on RV and lived-in vehicle parking.

There’s so little data available, it’s impossible to even tell if several of California’s largest homelessness programs are working, according to a statewide audit released Tuesday.

Across the country, cities have begun experimenting with artificial intelligence to map potholes, reduce traffic and fight wildfires. In San Jose, officials are now harnessing the rapidly evolving technology with another goal in mind: detecting homeless encampments.

I thought my journalism and others’ could change policy, perhaps even inspire a New Deal-style response equal to the challenge. Such was my naiveté.

Planning is underway to expand the homeless tiny home facility at 5898 Rue Ferrari in South San Jose with an additional 124 beds, a laundry area and community center.

After sending more than a hundred California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland earlier this year for a fleeting crackdown on crime, Gov. Gavin Newsom is tapping Caltrans to help clear homeless camps near major freeways throughout the city.

The Mountain View City Council unanimously voted to approve zoning changes permitting emergency shelters in residential areas of the El Camino Real Precise Plan.

“Street releases” have resumed after the nonprofit that operated a migrant welcome center announced its “finite resources have been stretched to the limit.”

No issue matters more to Californians than housing and homelessness. Catch up on where the major Senate candidates stand on the subject.

To comply with state law, Mountain View is taking steps to change its zoning regulations and standards to allow emergency homeless shelters in certain parts of the city, although not without some controversy.

When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his landmark effort to shelter homeless residents in hotels during COVID, the state and local governments were relying on FEMA to foot much of the bill.

The San Jose City Council unanimously approved allocating $200,000 to remove roughly 20 people living by the Guadalupe River Trail and work with community partners to encourage residents to frequent the trail.

California voters this spring are considering a $6.4 billion bond to house people with serious mental health conditions. A similar 2018 ballot measure offers lessons about the obstacles that stand in the way of construction.

For years, homeless veterans housed at an emergency facility in San Jose have lived with bed bugs, black mildew, fire hazards and a lack of warm water.

Prop. 1 would funnel more money into housing and treatment for homeless Californians struggling with mental illness and addiction. But it’s far from a one-stop solution.

A multi-year, $750 million California program aimed at doing away with homeless encampments has had mixed results. Local leaders say ongoing funding is needed.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in a case that challenges a ruling that enforcement of local laws against camping on public property violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case related to whether cities and towns can ban camping on public property. The high court could overturn Martin v. Boise, a 2018 federal court decision that keeps western cities and counties from blocking public camping when sufficient shelter space is unavailable.

The city will spend $50 million to subsidize affordable housing construction to bring 400 homes online, and $4.7 million to prevent 1,700 people from falling into homelessness through rent relief and other supportive services.

Villas at 4th Street in San Jose provides 93 apartments for formerly homeless senior residents.

A five-year data analysis conducted by the Vision Zero Task Force, a San Jose traffic safety program, shows a sharp increase in homeless traffic fatalities from 2018 to 2022, with five deaths in 2018 that grew to a total of 51 by 2022.

San Jose is spending nearly $2 million to lease land it has yet to use for homeless people living in their vehicles — and council members, residents and advocates want things done quicker.

San Jose is allocating millions of dollars to double the capacity of its oldest temporary housing site for homeless residents, pushing long-term operating costs into overdrive.

María Vela’s family has lived in East L.A. nearly 30 years, but new owners of her duplex asked her family to vacate by Christmas. Most evictions are due to nonpayment of rent, but owner move-ins also cause family displacement.

San Jose and Santa Clara County have spent decades and millions of dollars trying to end homelessness, and while some progress has been made, thousands remain on the street each night — and hundreds die each year.

Sunnyvale is hoping to finalize some of its biggest projects next year, from supporting homeless residents to putting in new sports fields.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

Federal judge David O. Carter has declined to dismiss a lawsuit that could force the Veterans Administration to house veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. Carter’s 41-page ruling could pave the way for a trial in mid-2024.

Santa Clara County officials are moving ahead with a temporary contract extension for homeless support services despite uneasiness over allegations of discrimination by the nonprofit provider.

Calling it a small but crucial tool for addressing homelessness, Palo Alto agreed to expand and make permanent a program that allows local congregations to devote parking spaces to vehicle dwellers.

San Diego-area nonprofits and faith organizations struggle to provide for tens of thousands of migrants border agents have released on San Diego streets.