San Jose began clearing a major homeless encampment along Coyote Creek Monday, but those being cleared out said they’ve been given no plan or advice on where to go instead.
This will affect an estimated 200 unhoused residents along a 4-mile stretch of the creek from Old Oakland Road at Corie Court in north San Jose, and winding down to where the creek meets Interstate 280.
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are
WATCH HEREThe clearing is happening because San Jose and Valley Water are about to start a large construction project to prevent future flooding.
Flooding, like the city had 6 years ago along the creek that prompted the evacuation of thousands of people.
The city got almost $5 million from Valley Water to connect unhoused people with services and housing, saying it’s not safe for them to stay during construction.
“It’s a lot because you don’t know where you’re going, but you know you’ve got to get your stuff out of here,” said Merced Lewis, who has lived along the creek for two years.
Homeless advocate Todd Langton, executive director of Agape Silicon Valley said these mass clearings are inhumane.
Local
“Doesn’t it make sense if we have a humanitarian crisis, as we do with the homeless crisis here, that we treat it as such and provide places for them to go when we’re evicting them from property,” said Langton.
Advocates say they’re trying to relocate people to unused parking lots blocks away. Others will move to parks, or nearby streets and underpasses.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news with the Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
SIGN UP The majority are having to leave their belongings behind because they can’t take them.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan held a press conference on the city's homelessness issues Monday as he’s trying to garner support for his budget that expands on rapid housing developments like the one set up in the police station parking lot.
I asked what the city is doing about these people who say they have nowhere to go.
“This is what’s happening every single day in our city whenever for any reason, public right of way is blocked, or somebody is camped right next to a school,” said Mahan. “In the long run we’re going to need a lot more affordable housing, but we need to put more of our dollars into the solutions that create safe, dignified, individual shelter with on-site services for many more people much faster so that we have a place for that person to go. Rather than telling them, ‘sorry, you can’t be here anymore. Go figure it out, good luck.’”
Mahan’s office said 22 people from the encampments will be placed in some of that rapid housing this week, others may go to shelters.
But, many will stay on the street.
