Dear County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors:

The undersigned organizations and concerned individuals has coalesced to urge action.

The current level of homelessness in the County of Santa Clara is a disgrace and a moral tragedy.  The homeless population has changed radically over the past 10 years. The current population is made up of many who in recent years may have been our neighbors. Women make up 36% and seniors 40% of the population. Those with drug and substance abuse issues represent less than 35%. The vast majority are more than capable of living independently. (2019 Santa Clara County Point in Time Homeless Survey.) 

All people experiencing homelessness deserve to live in dignity. Their primary need is for a safe place to live.The lack of available, affordable housing will not be solved using the current strategy of building traditional housing projects. There is a need for immediate action. The County, under special state legislation, has acknowledged the need by modifying its building codes to allow the use of Emergency Sleeping Cabins. There are numerous examples around the state and west coast of organized villages being opened and operated successfully. Last year in San Jose, Hope Village was a success.

The Board, as stated in Board Referral 100153, needs to take action which will provide  in the next 12-18 months another 2,000 individual shelter beds to meet the needs of the homeless. To accomplish this, money needs to be budgeted and staff dedicated to “transitional housing” using alternative structures designated as “emergency sleeping cabins”. With available public land, a Village can be constructed in weeks not months or years. 

We strongly urge the County of Santa Clara to: 

• Commit to a plan to provide new individual shelter beds or shelter bed equivalents to 2,000 people every 18 months in order to meet the needs of un-housed individuals county wide.
• Budget money and staffing of a new Office of Transitional Housing dedicated to implementing the plan.

We will continue to organize around these issues and proposed actions until they are accomplished.

Sincerely,

Villages of Hope Silicon Valley Board of Directors and our endorsers: