San Jose’s Homeward Bound pilot has quietly sent 42 people to stay with family or other supports since it launched, yet the city has spent only about $31,500 of the $200,000 set aside for the effort. That works out to roughly $750 per participant from last year’s allocation. Advocates say the small reach and thin follow-up make the program feel underused, and they worry it shifts people somewhere else rather than tackling San Jose’s deep housing shortage.
According to San José Spotlight, outreach workers have bought bus tickets to destinations across the country, including New York, Texas, Arizona, and Indiana, as well as cities within California. Spotlight reports that Northern California received the most people, with seven relocations, followed by North Carolina with five and Texas with four.
Advocates Press City On What Happens After Arrival
Local advocates told San José Spotlight they fear some participants could end up homeless all over again if San Jose does not carefully vet destinations or track outcomes. “I’m worried about the people who go back to the cities where they are from and become homeless again,” Todd Langton, founder of Agape Silicon Valley, told San José Spotlight, and Gail Osmer questioned whether outreach workers verify conditions at the landing sites.
City Sells Homeward Bound As A Bargain Tool
City officials, including Mayor Matt Mahan, have defended Homeward Bound as a relatively cheap way to reunite people with support networks. As reported by KQED, San Jose allocated $200,000 to the pilot and authorized outreach workers to spend up to $500 during routine conversations and up to $1,000 with supervisor approval for travel and related costs.
Huge Local Need, Small Program Footprint
Homeward Bound is operating in a city that still has the largest unhoused population in Santa Clara County, with 6,503 people, according to the county’s 2025 Point-in-Time count. Countywide, 10,711 people were experiencing homelessness, and roughly 83% of surveyed individuals had lived in Santa Clara County before becoming homeless. That finding underscores how deeply local the crisis is. For more details, see Santa Clara County.
San Francisco’s Bigger, Tweaked Relocation Playbook
Across the bay, San Francisco has been running relocation programs on a far larger scale. KQED reported that 1,159 people used one of San Francisco’s three relocation programs from fiscal year 2022 to recent reporting, which city data suggests works out to roughly 37 reconnections per month on average.
After reporting that outreach workers had stopped making follow-up calls, Mission Local noted that city officials revamped the Journey Home program to offer 24/7 relocation assistance, travel planning, help obtaining IDs, and up to 90 days of support after people arrive…