San Jose mayor considers sanctioned homeless encampment sites

(KRON) — In the South Bay, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is considering sanctioned encampment sites for people who don’t have permanent housing. KRON4 spoke to the mayor about this vision.

The hope is for safe sleeping sites for unhoused residents. This vision is still in its early stages – the size and locations are still being worked on.

“I’ve been arguing we need to treat homelessness like the crisis that it is — like the crisis you don’t embrace solutions that take years to bring online and cost up to a million dollars to help one person,” Mahan said. “You act with urgency, take emergency measures to create safe alternatives to the unsafe conditions people are in.”

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Mahan wants to try something in the South Bay that’s already happening in Southern California. San Diego just opened a second sanctioned camp capable of holding 400 tents.

The site prohibits on-site drug and alcohol use, violent behavior, and missing the curfew more than three times.

“Our city staff is already learning from jurisdictions. I was quite impressed by what San Diego was able to stand up,” Mahan said.

The vision still in its infancy would essentially be comprised of tents on top of a wooden pallet, paired with services such as security and bathrooms.

“It’s essentially a forced relocation.”

Speaking to us by phone, longtime unhoused advocate Shaunn Cartwright from Unhoused Response Group shared her views.

“There shouldn’t be 400 people at a site,” Cartwright said. “There should be areas that are smaller for domestic violence survivors and trafficking survivors, women and children, or just families in general.”

Mahan addressed those concerns.

“Different subpopulations have different needs. We have quick-billed communities with different populations,” Mahan said. “The city council in San Jose just gave further direction to city staff to differentiate the sites based on the specific needs and the types of services.

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“Our hope here is to create alternatives to very unsafe, unmanaged encampments where people are subject to violence and theft.”

Mayor Mahan’s goal is to bring this vision forward through the budget process next year (likely in March) in regard to resources for a pilot program then talk about locations.

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