Homeless families in Santa Clara County are calling for immediate help after recent storms forced them from their temporary shelters onto the streets.
It can take months to obtain shelter and supportive services in the region, and with existing facilities across the county at or near capacity, a coalition of advocates and unhoused families say San Jose and Santa Clara County need to open more shelters. The group spoke at a news conference Wednesday where it also called for a shelter in Sunnyvale to reopen to families, with more people left without shelter in recent storms .
“It’s a revolving door. You get referrals to things that don’t exist or (are) at capacity, so we need to expand,” Debra Townley, a formerly unhoused mother, told San José Spotlight. “More and more families are becoming homeless every day, families with children especially. The services are not meeting that need.”
Erykha, who asked to not use her last name out of fear of endangering her two children, said she lost her job last year and called the county’s Here4You hotline in September, hoping to find shelter. She said she was offered space at a shelter within a month, but declined, saying she was worried the space wouldn’t be safe for her children.