A year ago, the emergency homeless shelter in San Jose run by Family Supportive Housing received about 25 calls a day from desperate families needing a roof over their heads. The amount of calls have skyrocketed this year, with at least 50 calls a day as the phones ring nonstop.
The number of new households becoming homeless is rapidly rising in Santa Clara County, with one in five or 21% being families with children, according to data provided by nonprofit Destination: Home. From 2022 to end of 2023, there was a 24% increase of people becoming homeless for the first time — 4,300 new households. That’s a significant jump from the prior cycle, which saw only a 9% increase from 2021 to 2022.
“It is astronomical. It just breaks my heart,” Beth Leary, executive director of the nonprofit Family Supportive Housing, told San José Spotlight.
Family Supportive Housing, at 692 N. King Road, is the only shelter exclusively serving families. It has 35 large private rooms where the nonprofit provides case management, financial literacy classes and supportive services for the adults and children. There are 60 households on the waitlist.