The math says it all. Santa Clara County can’t build temporary or permanent housing fast enough to address its growing homeless population.
There are 10,711 homeless people in Santa Clara County, according to a point-in-time count conducted in January. But there are only 3,454 beds across 38 temporary shelters and programs countywide to help homeless people move through an uninterrupted path toward permanent housing. San José Spotlight’s exclusive compilation of data reveals there is only one bed for every three unhoused individuals.
Most of the bed space is in San Jose, with 2,989 beds across 32 identifiable temporary shelters and programs. The county’s largest shelter service is a LifeMoves motel voucher program, which can serve 291 people at a time and is located in San Jose. The largest single shelter is the Boccardo Reception Center, run by HomeFirst and one of the few remaining congregate shelters in the county…