Ending the era of encampments and providing an alternative to the streets is a push from many Bay Area communities.
On Saturday San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan along with Councilmembers Omar Torres and Dev Davis introduced a memo to prevent encampments from returning to the Guadalupe River Trail in the heart of downtown.
The city says last fall $2 million of State Encampment Resolution Funds went towards relocating unhoused residents into interim housing which closed the encampments and cleaned up the public use trail. But some camps have returned and city leaders want to preserve that progress.
Mayor Matt Mahan said creating safe and managed alternatives to encampments is the right way to end encampments.
“It’s hard to build public trust – get people back out using our trails, keep our river clean, keep our city economically vibrant, if we’re just kind of chasing encampments around the city,” Mahan said.
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