COVID-19 Assistance for Homeless Community
ASSISTANCE FOR PEOPLE AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS:
Low-income Santa Clara County residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can receive help paying rent. Assistance is available through two separate, but complementary programs: the statewide CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Program, and the Santa Clara County Homelessness Prevention System. To learn more, please visit our Emergency Rental Assistance webpage or call 2-1-1 for program eligibility.
Santa Clara County is managing referrals to temporary homeless shelters. The County responds to calls Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at (408) 278-6420.
Recorded Meetings can be found on the website at this link.
Emergency Interim Housing in Council District 3
On Monday, August 2, 2021, the Housing Department, the Department of Public Works, Mayor Sam Liccardo, and Councilmember Raul Peralez hosted a community meeting to discuss the proposed emergency interim housing site on Lot E, near the San José Police Department Headquarters. Below is a recording of the meeting.
Please click here to review the presentation from the meeting.
Emergency Interim Housing in Council District 6
In response to the COVID-19 emergency and the City’s shelter crisis declaration, the City of San José is developing three emergency interim housing communities to help protect unhoused people from the disease, slow the spread of COVID-19, and expand the City's interim housing capacity after the emergency recedes.
One of these emergency interim housing communities is in Council District 6 on Evans Lane near Almaden Expressway. An online public meeting was held on May 18 to discuss this development. Here is the presentation from that public meeting.
Here are frequently asked questions about the emergency interim housing on Evans Lane.
Emergency Interim Housing in Council District 2
On April 21, 2020, the City Council approved construction of an emergency interim housing community at the intersection of Monterey Road and Bernal Road. Minutes from that meeting are available to the public. The City Council also directed staff to develop plans for emergency interim housing on Rue Ferrari near Highway 101.
An online public meeting was held on April 27, 2020, to provide more information about this emergency interim housing.Here is the staff presentation from that meeting.
Here are some frequently asked questions about emergency interim housing in south San José.
Click here to view a presentation about Emergency Interim Housing given on June 15, 2020 to the District 2 Community Advisory Committee.
Emergency Temporary Trailer Complex on Story Road
The State of California provided the City with trailers to be used as temporary shelters during the pandemic. These trailers were located on a City-owned parking lot near the intersection of Story Road and Remillard Court. These trailers were used as shelters for vulnerable unhoused residents who did not have COVID-19 but did have multiple underlying conditions that put them at heightened risk if they contracted the disease.
The City deactivated the trailer complex on June 15, 2020, and transferred the individuals who had been staying in the trailers to motels being leased by Santa Clara County.
Coordinated Response to COVID-19
Interim housing is just one aspect of the City's response to the COVID-19 emergency. The City of San José is working closely with the County of Santa Clara, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Destination: Home, Valley Homeless Healthcare Program (VHHP), and many partner agencies and nonprofits on a coordinated effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the impact COVID-19 could have on homeless individuals and families. You can find more information about this coordinated effort here.
Steps the City is taking to support our homeless neighbors include:
- Reducing the frequency and number of encampment abatements to avoid unintentionally placing people at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19
- Placing hygiene equipment such as handwashing stations and portable toilets at large homeless encampments to help slow the spread of COVID-19
- Arranging for garbage collection at homeless encampments to help maintain sanitary conditions
- Providing information in multiple languages to homeless individuals in shelters, on the streets, and in encampments to help them understand how they can protect themselves from COVID-19
- Using South Hall as a temporary shelter for unhoused adults
- Using the Camden Community Center as a temporary shelter for unhoused families
- Identifying older homeless individuals with chronic health conditions who should be sheltered or isolated
- Operating two Safe Parking locations 24/7
- Piloting a food distribution program that provides boxed meals to unhoused residents at two encampments
The City and County are distributing fliers from the CDC and public health officials that describe the steps everyone should be taking to slow the spread of COVID-19. These fliers include: