Santa Clara County Homelessness Digest

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.

The state is making nearly $300 million in additional grant money available for local governments to clear homeless encampments, with a focus on areas near state highways and Interstate Highways, and provide housing options for people.

The number of homeless high school students and families in one East San Jose school district has increased threefold in just three years. 

Berkeley public works staff and police officers began closing the longstanding encampment along Seventh and Eighth streets in an “imminent health hazard and emergency abatement,” which was ordered to tackle safety concerns.

California’s population of homeless veterans has plateaued despite billions of dollars in state spending to create housing for former service members. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to shift resources to focus on veterans with serious mental health conditions.

As Palo Alto moves ahead with construction of a housing complex for homeless individuals in the Baylands, state Sen. Josh Becker is advancing a bill that he hopes will make these types of projects much more common across California.

A Santa Clara County spokesperson said the county granted permission to the city to clear out Four Corners after conditions at the encampment had “deteriorated” from a recent homicide, suicide, overdoses and arson.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan unveiled the first iteration of city “scorecards” to track progress in key areas,  hoping this will serve as a model nationwide.

Palo Alto’s elected leaders joined state dignitaries and housing advocates to celebrate the construction of a housing project that is unlike any other in the city: an apartment complex focused on unhoused individuals.

H4U does constant outreach, bringing food and hygiene packs to Milpitas’ unhoused residents while also doing more intensive work to help them get off the streets and into permanent housing.

When Palo Alto asked local churches to open their parking lots to people who live in their cars, city leaders saw it as a small solution to the giant problem of homelessness. Pleased with the results, they’re now looking to expand it.

A San Jose housing operator is receiving millions in funding to address homelessness, despite growing concerns by city officials about the non-profit’s performance and racial profiling allegations.

As part of its long-term vision to stem the tide of homelessness, the city of Mountain View is planning to convert two of its safe parking lots into affordable housing.

Though San Jose Mayor Mahan invited four labor groups representing Valley Transportation Authority workers to receive an award for collaborating to secure more housing options for homeless people in San Jose at the Cerone VTA yard, the leaders are declining the award.

Tiny homes are increasingly California cities’ shelter option of choice — but how far they go in solving homelessness is a contentious question.

South Bay philanthropist John A. Sobrato wants to lend a hand and land to ease the city's transitional housing shortage, offering a five-year lease for $1 per year to construct a 150-bed interim housing project on one of his parcels.

San Jose leaders are looking to cut costs while continuing to fund temporary housing solutions, a main approach of the mayor's plan to solve homelessness.