The state plans to give San Jose $4.8 million to help clear encampments and provide support to unhoused residents. But it’s a mere drop in the bucket compared to what the city needs to tackle homelessness.
Gov. Gavin Newsom doled out $130.7 million last week to assist in reducing the number of homeless people statewide. Local advocates say the money won’t go far, and that the state needs to invest more in solutions.
Todd Langton, founder of the Coalition for the Unhoused of Silicon Valley, said he’s worried the money will be spent on sweeping encampments rather than building up supportive services.
“The state and local governments are doing these things backwards,” Langton told San José Spotlight. “We have to have some place for (homeless residents) to go, some place effective where they can receive the services they need, where they can feel safe and an environment where they can flourish and start their transition back to traditional society but they’re constantly being abated.”
The funding comes from the state’s Encampment Resolution Funding grant program and follows Newsom’s July order that local jurisdictions be more aggressive at clearing encampments.