Your Government » Departments & Offices » Housing » Homelessness Response

Expanding Safe Options: Homelessness in San José

For the latest updates to specific projects, please scroll down.

The City of San José is working with partners to create more safe, secure, managed alternatives for people experiencing homelessness. This page provides basic facts about the homelessness crisis, links to our regional partners, information about different models of safe and/or managed spaces for our unhoused neighbors, and an opportunity to share your feedback.

For an overview of the current state of homelessness in our community, you can read a summary of the 2022 point-in-time count of homeless residents in the City of San José. If you prefer, here is the full report. The 2022 count found more than 6,000 homeless people in our city.

Response to the Homelessness Crisis

The City of San José is part of a regional collaboration that includes the County of Santa Clara, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, Destination: Home and nonprofits that are seeking to prevent people from falling into homelessness and find permanent housing for people who are experiencing homelessness. All of the partners have endorsed Community Plan to End Homelessness.

The City also maintains a Homelessness Program Dashboard that provides information on how much funding is going to our City's response to this crisis, and how our homelessness programs are performing. 

While the City is part of a system focused on preventing and ending homelessness, it is just as important for people to have a safe place to sleep tonight and every night while new affordable housing is being built. The longer people stay unsheltered the more their mental and physical health deteriorates.

Interim Opportunities in San José

Interim opportunities can take many forms, but it is typically short-term shelter intended to provide people experiencing homelessness with safe, supportive and secure places to live while they stabilize their lives and find permanent housing.

The City currently operates six interim housing communities like those featured in the video below. These six communities have nearly 400 units, providing temporary accommodations for well over 1,000 people each year.

 

Project Homekey

Project Homekey is a State-funded programs that creates opportunities for the City to convert underutilized hotels into interim housing. The City is currently operating one motel with 72 rooms and is working with partners to open up four more hotels as interim shelters.

Supportive Parking

Supportive parking (sometimes known as safe parking) sites provide people who temporarily live in their cars, recreational vehicles (RVs), or other vehicles a managed and secure place to rest while they work with case managers to find permanent housing opportunities.

The City of San José operates an RV Supportive Parking site at a light rail station in South San José. It has 42 parking spaces and basic amenities for participants. The City Council has approved a second supportive parking site that is expected to open in 2024.

While City staff continue to search for more supportive parking opportunities, the need is substantially higher than available resources at this time. It is estimated that people are living in more than 700 RVs throughout the City of San José.

If anyone is in need of immediate shelter, they should call the Here4You shelter hotline at 408-385-2400.

SOAR Sites

The City of San José currently operates the Services, Outreach, Assistance and Resources (SOAR) program. SOAR sites are encampments at which the City provides basic trash service, portable toilets and hand washing stations, and connects encampment residents with case managers to support their search for permanent housing. There are currently 15 SOAR sites.

Overnight Warming Locations

The City of San José opens City-owned recreational facilities or libraries as overnight shelters during the winter. The specific locations change each year because there are no permanently identified facilities at this time. There are typically two overnight warming locations each winter.

Temporary and Incidental Shelter

The City of San José allows non-profits, faith organizations, and service clubs to use their facilities as temporary shelters. If you are interested in opening up a shelter in your facility, more information on the process can be here.

A Shared Responsibility

The image below shows the breakdown of emergency and temporary housing options across the City of San José. This data is from the federal Housing Inventory Count, maintained by Santa Clara County. It is available here. Most of these temporary options are in the City center. The Mayor and City Council have set a direction to provide temporary options in every City Council district. City staff has been working to identify and build more of these options throughout the City. Read more background here.

If you would like to provide feedback on the City's efforts to address homelessness, or if you know of a site for a possible interim solution, please contact the City at EIHOutreach@sanjoseca.gov. We are always looking for new opportunities to get our unhoused residents off the streets and into safe spaces.

Latest Updates -- Sites Under Consideration

The following sites were heard as items 8.4 and 8.5 during the City Council meeting on June 6, 2023 (agenda). To see all documents associated with the sites or the presentation, click here.

Berryessa RV Communities Supportive Parking

The City Council approved a second RV Communities Supportive Parking site at this location. This will enable specific groups of people living in RVs to move to a City-leased site. The site will include a range of services. The specific date when operations will begin is not yet certain. Due to high demand and program design, this site will accept participants by referral only. No referrals are being accepted yet. Anyone who would like to stay informed about the status of the project may email the City at EIHOutreach@sanjoseca.gov.

Below is the recorded community meeting held on April 26, 2023

Cherry Avenue Interim Housing

The City is proposing to pursue an interim housing community of approximately 96 units on Valley Water property along Cherry Avenue as well as the establishment of a Water Resources Protection Zone adjacent to the proposed site to protect environmental resources. Below please find the recorded community outreach session held on May 3, 2023 and the presentation.

This site was approved for interim housing by the City Council on June 6, 2023. City staff will work with the property owner, Valley Water, and through the City Council District 9 office to ensure community awareness and engagement.

 

Proposed Bernal Backup Sites for small homes provided by the State

These sites were removed from consideration as backup locations by the City Council on June 6, 2023.

On May 22nd, staff hosted a community meeting to discuss two Caltrans-owned properties the City Council was considering as backup locations for small homes in case the City was unable to proceed with preferred locations in District 4 (VTA Cerone property) and District 9 (Cherry Avenue Valley Water property). Below is a recording of that meeting.

  

Proposed Via Del Oro site for moveable sleeping cabins

This site has been moved forward by the City Council for a cost-benefit analysis.

On May 30, 2023, staff hosted a community meeting to discuss the proposed interim housing community of moveable sleeping cabins in the Via Del Oro neighborhood. Below is a recording of that meeting.

 

Recording of Conversation on October 18, 2023 

The City of San José is continually seeking to expand the role and voices of people who have lived experience with homelessness, including those currently living outside. The City wants their voices to be heard during the decision-making process about homeless policies. Below are recordings, slides and other materials presented throughout this conversation series.

 

Your Thoughts, Your Voice: Direct Conversation Series #3 Jan 22 2024

The City continued its ongoing discussions with San Jose residents with lived experiences of homelessness in our community. As with other sessions, the goal is to hear perspectives about the issues of importance to residents and to share information about potential upcoming policies or programs to get input about how city staff can take into account the views of all community members. This session focused on gaining insights about the concept of Safe Outdoor Sleeping locations, clarifying the advanced notice and direct collaboration between city staff and residents near Guadalupe Gardens to help share accurate information and to discuss options for future conversations.

 

Stormwater Permit Requirements, Homelessness and Neighborhoods

On Monday, February 26th 2024, City staff participated in the most recent conversation with unhoused community members. This discussion focused on listening to participants at the Rue Ferrari Emergency Interim Housing community about specific issues they have encountered, both positive and negative, while unhoused in San Jose. It also provided specific opportunities to share an important early update regarding mandates from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board that could impact people who are currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness due to a required prioritization criteria for abatement along certain waterway areas.  Input was also sought regarding what should be included in Safe Outdoor Sleeping (or organized, managed areas to sleep outside) as well as other needs. 

 

April 2, 2024 Community Meeting -Via Del Oro Project Status Update

City staff met with members of the community to share an update with regard to the EIH community planned for a private property site known as Via Del Oro. The meeting included comments from Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Arjun Batra, and Dignity Moves CEO Elizabeth Funk. Dignity Moves is the external partner organization who has secured substantial philanthropic support for this project.  Below, please find a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that was shared with the community along with links to the City Council Memorandum and associated meeting minutes from October 17, 2023, as well as the March Budget Message adopted by the City Council in March of 2024.  

 

Service Provider Townhall – Supportive Outdoor Sleeping (featuring Teresa Smith, Dreams for Change)

On Friday, June 7, 2024, the City of San José hosted a virtual townhall featuring consultant Teresa Smith of Dreams for Change, a service provider in San Diego.  Dreams for Change operates two sites that it refers to as “Safe Sleeping Sites” in San Diego. This townhall session was a chance for service providers to hear directly from the operator of one 130-tent and one 400-tent site. This was also a chance to ask questions. Below is a link to the full recorded session.

Dreams for Change

If you are prompted for a password, please enter #b?*K3&1.