San Jose Aims to Shut Down “The Jungle” Homeless Camp By December

The days of "The Jungle" are coming to a close. San Jose's most-notorious homeless encampment is also one of the country's most-infamous, and city officials are preparing to clean out the semi-permanent enclave of hundreds of people near Story Road once and for all, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

The end of The Jungle is slated for December, the newspaper reported, as the city identifies up to 200 people living there now who would be suitable for places with subsidized care and affordable housing, the newspaper reported.

Already, 88 people have been relocated, and 59 more people have been offered subsidies.

There are as many as 300 people living in the camp near Coyote Creek, within walking distance of the US-101-Interstate 280 interchange.

The "Third-World hellhole" encompasses as much as 68 acres of the Silicon Valley city, the newspaper reported.

City officials and homeless-services providers say they've been trying to deal with The Jungle for years, without success, but that this ongoing effort is by far the most ambitious yet.

There are as many as 247 homeless encampments within San Jose city limits. Closing The Jungle will cost as much as $6 million.

One reason behind the renewed effort to shut down the camp this year is water quality: The regional Water Quality Control Board has informed the city that human waste is getting into the creek at an "unacceptable" level.