Santa Clara County Homelessness Digest

In a July 25 ceremony, Sunnyvale and county officials gathered across from the Lawrence Caltrain Station to celebrate the start of construction of 176 affordable apartments.

The 102-unit Sango Court affordable housing complex in Milpitas offers 102 apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness.

San Jose announced a $6.7 million state grant will be used to finance a 100-unit tiny house site on Cherry Avenue.

In 2021, responding to reports that the state’s homeless shelters were dirty and dangerous, the state Legislature crafted a plan: It would require local governments to inspect their shelters after complaints and file annual reports on shelter conditions.

The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability.

Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.

There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there about homelessness in California. We use data to dispel several common myths.

The ruling by the conservative court majority means cities no longer are prohibited from punishing homeless people for camping if they have nowhere else to go.

The Supreme Court 6-3 ruling in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson case found that the fining and arresting of homeless people does not violate Eighth Amendment rights.

A panel at the CalMatters Ideas Festival debates how to reduce homelessness without punishing poverty. There’s worry about a potential $1 billion cut in state funding.

It’s the billion-dollar question. That’s how much cities and other local governments have been receiving from the state each year to deal with California's ever-increasing population of homeless people.

In his June 1 State of the City speech, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan asserted a need to find clean and safe places to move over 1,000 homeless from unsafe conditions on the streets and along waterways in the coming 12 months.

A bill to ban homeless encampments statewide near parks, schools and transit hubs failed to get out of the same legislative committee as last year.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held May 8 to celebrate the opening of the 80-unit affordable Kifer Senior Apartments.

Plans include more tiny home shelters, sanctioned camps, bus tickets out of town.

The 130-unit Solaire Apartments affordable housing complex at 425 Auzerais Avenue in downtown San Jose has opened for occupancy.

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.