Residents, public officials, urban planning think tanks and homeless advocates have focused their attention on the park in recent months, in part because it may be a bellwether for all of San Jose, Su says. His morning routine includes a stretch before he sweeps outside his home and picks up any trash he seesa relatable ritual, even if most people cant picture themselves living alongside him in a homeless encampment at the Guadalupe River Park. The 2021 census was postponed for one year due to COVID-19 conditions. It will be 16 prefabricated modules with 76 small apartments, where. Changing that planned ventilation facility at 16th to a station is the easiest thing to do. The main problem with the piece, and so many others, is the lack of insight into the houseless themselves and what has made them houseless. They could be washed away and drown. Just recall that Liccardo and neoliberal Council majorities have been responsible for selling City assets (particularly land) to the private sector, for showering downtown developers with tax, fee and affordable housing mandate exemptions and concessions that have and will cost the City tens of millions in revenues, and for partnerships with mega-corporationsnot least of which are Google, AT&T, Verizon and Adobe. Maybe this is the ideal sacrificial area to which all the Citys ferals should be relocated. But they did not have a problem getting their monthly check. There are people who recently became homeless for a variety or reasons, many who had mental problems and the last were long term, perfectly able physically and mentally who just did not want to work. Its scary.. These are neighbors, friends and community members caught in the tangle of a precarious and inequitable socio-economic system characterized by lopsidedly-distributed income and wealth, by a tiny minority that devours the vast bulk of resources, where more than two-thirds of the population lives paycheck to paycheck (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/number-of-americans-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-on-decline-despite-pandemic-301134207.html), and where the political stratum is captured by the primary beneficiaries of the social order. Oh, the humanity. The pandemic also has disrupted some of the parks regular clean-up programs, and piles of trash are growing along the riverbanks and throughout the trails and gardens. This is also Loop 337. But it all depends on whether the site allows pets, Wells said, looking down at Junior, the dachshund and rat terrier mix sitting in his lap. The massive metal and bronze statue had been stolen from Guadalupe River Park in San Jose since the end of January, with Maharaj and the horse that he was riding chopped off and removed from the . Guadalupe River Trail. close their doors, not because there was not enough business, but because they had unbelievable amounts of shoplifting and all the trouble due the problems from trying to stop it. Were still in the early planning stages, Henninger said. Arena Greens beautiful, but it's been completely neglected.. Thanks to Mss. The headline uses the word homeless. Emergency dollars and emergency orders have helped us to move more quickly, but has not solved the funding issues of getting more affordable housing built, he says. San Jose Conservation Corps + Charter School also will send workers to the park twice a week. Danger to waterways. Exit on Hwy 46 West toward Boerne. San Jose Inside (https://www.sanjoseinside.com), Hundreds of homeless people have taken up residence in the Guadalupe River Park and along the riverbanks in downtown San Jose during the pandemic. Do some research before moving somewhere. This is a popular trail for hiking, road biking, and running, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. At the time of the census more than two-thirds had been homeless for at least one year and another 27% for 1-11 months. Then, the people he delivers good to every other week can finally call themselves formerly homeless, he says. Distance Public bus and light rail stops are 5-15 minutes by foot and all facilities. FILE - Homeless tents line the sidewalk on SW Clay St in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 9, 2020. Now city leaders are considering a different approach: housing homeless residents near the river, while enlisting them to help clean and maintain Guadalupe River Park. With some changes, the River Park could be useful for everyone, Huttenhoff saysbut the biggest challenges are public perception, city support and committed funding. Its something that Ive never seen before, honestly, said Jason Su, executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. But anyways Does this mean the Mayor is on the cusp of reversing his career-long commitment to almost nothing but market-based solutions for everything? Any others that are proven to be able to work, should be required to work for some sort of charity or government/public need. Station. of water per hour of activity. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation Ive lived in SJ for 45 years and homeless bums have always been a problem in the parks and water ways. Its North Fork begins just south of State Highway 41, four miles from the Real-Kerr county line (at 3006' N, 9939' W), and runs east for twenty-two miles to its confluence with the South Fork, near Hunt (at 3004' N, 9920' W). But the recommendations to re-think the park itself, as proposed by SPUR, arent currently on the to-do list, officials say. We want to be proud of this land, he says. Flooding along Guadalupe River, Ross Creek expected In the South Bay, Tuesday's storm is bringing concerns of flooding and an alert to hundreds of residents near Willow Glen in San Jose. Housing | Such changes could look like the living room parklets, in Seattle, flush with magazines and music; or pairing social workers armed with board games to talk with homeless residents, as is done in Atlantas Woodruff Park. 14 votes, 14 comments. Our drug addicted need treatment. Building on this national momentum, SPUR has launched a project to reconsider the Guadalupe River Park, an underappreciated gem in downtown San Jose. (Photo by Greg Ramar). The noise and other safety concerns had mounted in the decade after the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport expanded to accommodate passenger projections of 500,000 annual travelers. Three-quarters were 25 years old and above with 17% between 18-24 and 8% under age 18. It is far better to establish yourself in a town or community in which rents are $500-$600 a month or a house cost $150K or less. San Jose City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the Guadalupe project Tuesday, with Councilman David Cohen absent. Looking statewide, it would cost $2.4 billion per year to help the 129,972 people sleeping on the streets on any given night, Liccardo says. Or are you just too obtuse to dare cross the orthodoxy of the noble homeless victim and their allies? But heyin the small chance that youre actually sober and of sound mind, why not use some common sense? Because its not visible from the street, what ends up happening is the debris just continues to grow and grow and grow, and pile up, she said. Still frequenters from SAP center to airport by bicycle, to get the bay trail and palo alto, but always feel like there are a lot of risks. San Jose approves new temporary homeless housing for people camping in Guadalupe River Park. The Guadalupe River is photographed in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. . I often have had a main job and multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. Yes, the truth was simple as I saw stores (Safeway, Walgreens, etc.) Stetson and Lauers article quotes San Jose Mayor Liccardo saying: Emergency dollars and emergency orders have helped us to move more quickly, but has not solved the funding issues of getting more affordable housing builtAs long as the Bay Area is a place where it costs $700,000 to build an apartment , were not going to see a market-based solution for affordable housing. Coming from Liccardo, a dyed-in-the-wool, Harvard-educated neoliberal, that is quite an admission. Say, the city isnt going to think someday of high-rises in the park for public housing, where a park already exists, is it? PART II: The Houselessness We See is But One Facet of Social Decay. The Guadalupe River is a prized jewel in the state of Texas. Its a fact. Those that can work will be able to do so. Map & Directions. Drink plenty of water. Where are the environmentalist? Conservancy volunteers will spend hours cleaning the park, only to see it covered in trash a week later, Su said. San Jose may house homeless residents along, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Los Gatos: Hundreds still without power as Black Road repair project finishes early, San Jose may house homeless residents along Guadalupe River, Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided, Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation, Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years, After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp. This would never work as visitors dont want to witness the unthinkable activities that occur in these homeless communities. The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy provides community leadership for the development and active use of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens through education, advocacy and stewardship. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Foster kids. So whatever happens in the River Park is almost a signal in the direction of the city.. They also will help maintain the parks landscaping. 'Insufficient evidence': No crimes tied to Fall River mishandling of drug records, report finds,The review examined allegations of police giving out drugs to informants and missing drug logs inside the Fall River Police Department. From Austin: IH 35 south to New Braunfels. He was a good person and I do not believe that he took his life. He explained that he HAD been homeless but got so tired of seeing countless job offers on pages of paper handed out to those he was with, he could not stand watching people lie, ignore, and essentially not even try to work. So please. The city is trying to relocate people who have been residing on a 28-acre stretch of undeveloped land just west of the Guadalupe River since around late December, said Ray Bramson, homeless . Your email address will not be published. | About Us | Comments Policy | Advertising & Partnerships | Contact Us | Facebook | Twitter, A look inside San Jose politics and culture, Santa Clara Co. The houseless are, thus, people with low or precarious incomes, who have difficulty finding or holding jobs and who have had marital or domestic problems in their former households. These same Democrats are now puzzled- what, WHAT could possibly account for this sudden concentration of human debris in our midst? There are so many places outside California that one can live a modest professional life but an abundant personal life. I had never heard that. (Part of the answer, no doubt, is that they dont have so many for-profit and/or non-profit actors taking a cut of rental and other revenues.). Not solve it. Launched in November as another effort to beautify the Guadalupe River area, the program pays encampment residents for the bags of trash they collect. Charitable, non-profit, advocacy, volunteer, municipal, county and homeowner agents get their say but, except for Eugenes fleeting appearance, and the photo of a nameless child, the houseless are the subject of discussion but are not themselves discussants. (Photo by Greg Ramar). Here is the real reason why CA has so many homeless. Ive done it. Theres this broad sense of universal under-investment of a lot of our services, which perpetuates the concerns and priorities we see, Su says. Your body quickly loses fluids when you're on the trail. Heres a nice zillow map of sub>$20,000 homes. SAN JOSE A new effort is underway to clean up debris-strewn Guadalupe River Park, while also helping the large numbers of people living there in tents and makeshift shacks. River Acres Park (Hours: 6am to Midnight) 501 Fair Lane. As recently as a generation ago, college and university students were considered a relatively privileged segment of the U.S. population. Could easily fit 2-3 people in them. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) should be reactivated. City officials for years have struggled to turn the 3-mile long riverfront park into an attractive community gathering space, but the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered their efforts. Guadalupe River Park is hardly fit these days to become Guadalupe River Estates. But in a region where a single home typically takes years to develop and is about $700,000 per unit, finding alternate options for homeless residents is a lofty task while approximately 10,000 people remain unhoused in Santa Clara County as of 2019. Since arriving in July, Eugene has taken on the responsibility of cleaning up the land as if it were his own. Its like a canceronce you let it go, it compounds itself. If you have a complaint be part of the solution. Ethnically, 43% identified as Hispanic/Latino. University administrators and state legislators addressed the issue with expanded funding for expanding relatively low cost on-campus housing and subsidized food programs (https://www2.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/student-success/basic-needs-initiative/Documents/BasicNeedsStudy_Phase_3.pdf; https://www.ucop.edu/global-food-initiative/_files/food-housing-security.pdf). Its not too late for BART and VTA, at least. Residents and businesses went to the press to show the overwhelming blight and danger to health for all. But finding the right people to blame for making the mess is less important than the crossroads city officials and the parks stewards face in addressing the problems, which have been made all the more visible by the pandemic. The Guadalupe River Park is an asset in our City and cross-sector partnerships such as this one not only help to restore the park, but allow it to thrive.. A homeless child looks over the park at an oncoming airplane. Jim Salata has helped build, preserve and retrofit Downtown San Jose since 1988, when he and his wife Suzanne founded Garden City Construction. In addition to picking up trash including large, bulky items and hypodermic needles team members also try to engage the homeless park residents they meet, and get them involved in Downtown Streets or other programs that could help them. People with disabilities. large population of homeless residents who live along the river banks; there has been conflict over the quantity and quality of water for fish and other wildlife habitat; and a Guadalupe River State Park really is the place to be. Guadalupe River Park never was a popular destination for SJ residents and upkeep and maintenance were ignored by the City right from the beginning. Homeless people have created a Public Health problem affecting themselves and society. villainous NIMBYs, such horrible, cold-hearted people that they dont want garbage, tents and shacks set up behind their house. A peek at NextDoor in many Bay Area neighborhoods makes the frustration over the growing homeless population in the region apparent, including in San Jose, where the park has been dubbed the Homeless Mansion by some NextDoor users. Prepare for sun and heat. A lost job (30%), alcohol or drug use (22%), divorce or separation (15%), eviction (14%), fallout with family or friends (12%) and incarceration (11%) were the six most frequently cited events or conditions leading to houselessness. She previously covered startups and venture capital for the Bay Area News Group and prior to that court cases for The Recorder in San Francisco. Housing | Hire 50 people whose job it is to keep the trash cleaned up and maintain porta potties to try to reduce the amount of pooping in the river. You can still see the outlines of the city blocks, Su says, as he walks through the park flanked by the Heritage Rose Garden on one side and an encampment on the other. The GRPC provides community leadership for the development and active use of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens through education, advocacy and stewardship. NEW - 2 HRS AGO . The City Council voted unanimously at its May 3 meeting to push the deadline to Sept. 30 pending FAA approval with about 130 people still living in the camp. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. Parts of it were a dump, and some segments were very scary to ride along because of mentally ill or intoxicated people living along the trail. I wouldnt put it past them, Local Yokel. Then west 7 miles to Park Rd 31. Those kinds of posts also frustrate Eugene, who says he wishes people understood that he doesnt want to be homeless or sleeping in the park. The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy will coordinate the efforts of all the nonprofits in the park, while also bringing in volunteers to clean. Amenities and services include off-street parking; accessibility for the physically challenged; furniture and kitchen appliances; all basic utilities (water, electricity, sewerage, heating and cooling); wi-fi internet access; and internet-based TV. Turn right on Park Road 31, go 3 miles to the Park. The second group did not know what day it was, but seriously needed help they often were not getting, but instead just got pushed down the tracks to make their problems someone elses. The houseless are clearly not nomadic migrants seeking the most generous social safety net, as libertarian and neoliberal sociopaths suggest. California's Medicaid program . Guadalupe River Park, a three-mile ribbon that meanders through the heart of San Jose, for years has failed to live up to its potential as a scenic gathering space. Naysayers, I speak from personal experience. Thats for starters. SAN. Along a narrow trail, they found Tony McCann, who lives in the park in a community stashed amongst the trees and surrounding tanbark. Write a Review. What kind of image do we want to portray to the world? Gruene River Company. The monthly rental ratesthat include housing and all amenitiesrange between $933 and $1,251 or an average of about $1,120 per living space. The remote nature of Guadalupe River Park makes it an ideal candidate for their services, said Erika Laguna, manager of program operations for Downtown Streets Team. SPUR is trying to translate its new toolkit into concrete policies and projects. This is just on a scale thats just so, so large.. --- Predefined displays ---. Come enjoy the day at the park and create a nature-inspired painting! Her approach isnt trying to eradicate homelessness, like so many reports and visions in the region. And our mentally ill neighbors need treatment. Stetson and Lauers article quotes Jason Su, the Executive Director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy noting: Theres this broad sense of universal under-investment of a lot of our services, which perpetuates the concerns and priorities we see. What Mr. Su is alluding to is the long decades of social safety net attrition vis-a-vis the poor. Todd Langton talks with unhoused residents, many he considers friends, on Saturday, March 20 while delivering supplies and food to encampments in San Jose. Bill Wells, who has spent 20 years camping off-and-on along the river, said the housing program sounds better than a tent. Somewhere in the process, thoroughly Scr*w SPUR and be rid of them. Jessica Bergner. Group table by. Discover this 5.4-mile loop trail near Alviso, California. Its frustrating, she said. Some 81% of the houseless resided in the County prior to their recent houselessness with 15% having previously lived in other California counties. Number. Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. It is the way forward. Its 182 acres are nestled in the Lost Pines region and reside on Lake Bastrop - a place where fishermen thrive catching award-winning largemouth bass. GPS coordinates shown in decimal degrees. On top of the emergency tiny homes, San Jose officials have approved a list of short-term solutions to ease the homelessness crisis during the pandemic. The Guadalupe rises and floods encampments, creating dangerous conditions for unhoused residents and washing debris into the river. The project area is an existing industrial neighborhood 45 acres in size, and is bounded by Tasman Drive to the south, the Guadalupe River to the East, the Santa Clara golf course to the north, and Lafayette Street to the west. Hi, I was looking to help out and volunteer with Agape Silicon Valley, but a google search turns up nothing. With 290 lodges, cabins and hotels in the park and the surrounding towns, your perfect adventure is ready and waiting for you. When [unhoused people] are looked down upon, thats why a lot of them will go into areas like the Guadalupe Parkway: they don't have to encounter that scorn or snobbishness from the housed people.. Indeed, the park was filled with residences until the mid-70s, when the city demolished 630 homes in the 240 acres in and around the park, per FAA recommendations. Democratic lawmakers in Oregon have proposed a $200 million spending package to tackle two of their top issueshomelessness and housingas the state struggles to build more homes and move a growing number of people off the streets. Original Tube Haus (1978) Guadalupe River Tubing - No "Can Ban", bring your favorite drinks & snacks for your all day FUN FLOAT! Over the years the water that flows inevitably from the hills and reservoirs in the Santa Cruz Mountains northward into the San . The response was good and both the City of San Jose and volunteers are making efforts to not sweep camps away but sweep clean areas around camps and used by everyone. This point-in-time count provides insights that are routinely ignored, downplayed or concealed by too many involved in the issue of houselessness. Q&A. A cluster of prefab modular units would serve as temporary housing for between 80 and 100 homeless occupants. The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy is a non-profit partner of the City of San Jose.