Santa Clara County Supes Suggest $25M For 10 Interim Housing Websites For Unsheltered – CBS San Francisco

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Santa Clara district regulators can approve $ 25 million next week for the construction of 10 new temporary residential areas in the district.

The proposal put in by supervisors Joe Simitian and Otto Lee provides for $ 2.5 million in the rescue plan for each location to finance the development and operating costs of 10 locations for five years.

“That has the potential to (help) 20,000 people over five years,” Simitian said at a press conference at a temporary housing estate in Mountain View.

Simitian and local leaders gathered on the website, operated by the nonprofit LifeMoves, to present the proposal, which will be presented to the board of directors on Tuesday.

It’s a website they hope will be replicated “10 times” across the county, said Aubrey Merriman, CEO of LifeMoves.

This is because it is an inexpensive location that can be built quickly to provide shelter and services for homeless residents to help them move into supportive housing.

The locations consist of converted shipping containers that are around 40 square meters in size. Each unit costs between $ 50.00 and $ 200,000 per unit and can last as little as six months, Merriman said.

In comparison, a traditional animal shelter can take years to build, with costs ranging from $ 400,000 to $ 800,000 per unit, overseers said.

Joanne Price, Vice President of Real Estate and Operations at LifeMoves, said it was also an inexpensive method as it saves taxpayers money.

She said on Mountain View’s website that with all service, personnel, and development costs it’s around $ 75 to $ 95 per night per person per bed.

By comparison, the cost of leaving someone chronically homeless in Santa Clara County is around $ 227 a night, according to a 2015 report by the Destination: Home rights group.

LifeMoves would be the operator of the 10 sites if the board proposal passes on Sep 28 and the Mountain View site is used as a model.

There are 100 rooms on site that accommodate around 100 adults and 20 children. 88 of the rooms are single occupancy that can be shared by two people and 12 rooms are intended for families of up to five people.

Each room is equipped with air conditioning, storage space, a desk and a bed.

The grounds also have a small playground for children, common areas, shared bathrooms, and more than a dozen washers and dryers.

There, residents receive a variety of personalized services such as case management, psychological support and job placement to help them move into permanent housing.

It’s a method that Merriman said worked. At the Mountain View location, 69 percent of individuals and 89 percent of families were able to return to permanent supportive accommodation within a few months.

“It’s more than just a lock on the door,” said Merriman. “Paired with our intensive and comprehensive services that we offer each of our customers.”

Diane Jones, a current resident of the temporary housing estate, said her room was the perfect rest stop for her to get back on her feet.

“It seems small, but it isn’t,” said Jones. “It’s a place where I can sleep safely, I can lock the door, it’s amazing.”

Jones, a longtime Mountain View resident, became homeless after her divorce. Although she once worked at NASA and Cisco, after giving birth to her son, she became a home mom. So when she got divorced, she was left without income and subsequently without a place to live.

“Then I became disabled and my steady income of $ 1,300 a month just wasn’t enough to find an apartment,” said Jones. “I became homeless with my son.”

But after living in the temporary shelter for a little over three months, she said the staff helped her son find a job. And with their joint income, she and her son will be moving to an apartment in Mountain View in two weeks’ time.

“I’m really glad to be staying in my hometown and not having to leave,” said Jones. “I will always, always recommend this hotel.”

Many city officials from Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Santa Clara attended Thursday’s press conference to show their support for the proposal or to learn more about it.

Sunnyvale councilor Alyssa Cisneros said she is keen to work with LifeMoves and the county to establish a similar intermediate location in her town.

“We have a data drive, affordable, high-performance interim shelter solution for those who need it most,” said Cisneros.

She stressed that temporary housing is essential for people to get back on track.

“Imagine trying to sort out our dates, flat-hunting requests, and how we get food stamps …” People need security in their lives in order to reach their full potential. “

She went on to say that she was particularly excited that this would be a multi-partner approach.

“Neither of us can do this alone and we should have to,” said the recently elected Sunnyvale City Councilor. “Complex problems require solutions with several partners.”

Simitian called on city leaders, nonprofits, and philanthropists to join the county in funding such solutions, especially as homelessness continues to affect more residents.

The district’s last homeless census in 2019 showed that nearly 10,000 residents were homeless – 80 percent of whom were not housed. That number is expected to be higher and has increased over the past two years, especially given the impact of the pandemic.

A 2020 report by Working Partnerships USA predicts more than 40,000 homes in Santa Clara County are at risk of eviction and will become homeless after the eviction moratorium expires. The state moratorium on eviction ends on September 30th.

“Given these numbers, we have to make it big,” said Simitian. “Incremental efforts just don’t get the job done.”

Simitian said he hoped the proposal would be adopted as it would need three votes. If so, the county staff will report to the board on November 16 with the site locations and a plan for construction to begin.

Merriman said he’s already in contact with several local communities to identify locations.

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