Dear Neighbor,

A lot has happened since our last newsletter. 

We got the news that the Federal Government is all in on BART — committing $5.1B to ring the Bay in rail. We went to Sacramento with Senator Becker to push for streamlining measures for the construction of tiny homes statewide. We took the first electric Caltrain ride from San Francisco to San Jose on a faster, cleaner, quieter train. We organized a trip to San Diego, to see their Safe Sleeping Site and learn what’s working and what’s not. 

And we started advocating for something vital – a statewide mandate for the construction of shelter and treatment beds. And our idea is gaining traction. 

I’m sure you’ve heard all about Governor Newsom’s latest Executive Order and his promise to take money away from cities and counties not doing their fair share. He is creating accountability for action, which I fully support.

As the Governor pushes for encampment clearing and faster action, I’ve begun making the case in Sacramento and here at home that we need the state to create a framework that requires every city and every county to do their fair share. 

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my greatest concern for San Jose in this moment is that other, smaller cities will simply push their homeless population into larger cities and expect us to solve their problems as well as ours. 

Only the state can set clear targets for each city and each county to do its part to build the shelter beds and treatment beds we need if we are going to hold people accountable for coming in off the streets. Clearing an encampment without offering anywhere to go wastes taxpayer money and fails to solve the problem. 

The state already has a mechanism for ensuring cities and counties do their fair share when it comes to building housing. It sets targets based on population and job growth, and is increasing creating consequences for cities and counties that fail to appropriate zone their land to allow additional homes to be built. 

If we don’t have places for people to go, we are going to be wasting taxpayer dollars moving people from city to city and between counties, only for them to end up exactly where they were before – on the streets, with no job training or services, and little chance of them ever becoming self-sufficient. 

What we’re doing in San Jose is working. We clear around 300 encampments a year and will be expanding our shelter capacity to serve an additional 1,000 people over the next 12 months. And once this shelter is available, we will require that people come indoors. What we need is for the state to force other cities and counties to follow our lead. 

If you’re interested in helping to advocate for this statewide fair share framework, let us know here.

Sincerely,

Mayor Matt

On Wednesday, Santa Clara County will be discussing their plan for using Prop 1 dollars – a bond measure voters passed in March that provides funding for counties to expand or establish mental health treatment facilities. The catch is, counties have to apply for these dollars and have a concrete plan for utilization. 

As it stands today, our failed mental health care system allows thousands of people suffering from serious behavioral health challenges to slip through the cracks, committing many of them to life on the streets or in our jails. We have all witnessed how this failure has contributed to the crisis we see in our neighborhoods today. 

For years, we’ve taken the easy road in addressing our behavioral health crisis by providing voluntary, outpatient services for those struggling with mental illnesses and addiction. But unless we expand what we really need – in-patient treatment beds and even secure treatment facilities in severe cases – we will continue to condemn our mentally ill and addicted neighbors to a never-ending revolving door between the streets, jail and the county hospital. 

Our community deserves a coherent and effective strategy that modernizes the systems for those grappling with the challenges of mental health, substance abuse and homelessness. To do this, our County must embrace recent statewide behavioral health reforms, such as Care Court and conservatorship reform, and aggressively pursue the State funding recently made available through Proposition 1. With these dollars, they must prioritize expanding in-patient beds for mental health and addiction treatment. 

I know this is a top priority for many of you. If you’d like to make sure it’s our county’s top priority too, you can share your thoughts at the board meeting at 10am on Wednesday.

Our storefront activation program continues to help small businesses succeed! The MOMENT model gives our budding entrepreneurs a chance to grow in a brick-and-mortar space, and to fill once-vacant storefronts with the fresh, new experiences that are driving our Downtown rebound. And it was made possible thanks to investments in last year’s budget and creative partnerships with property owners who are willing to discount rent for a period of time to fill an empty storefront. The Downtown Association also did important work to help these budding entrepreneurs set up their shops and spread the word. 

We have MOMENT shops at San Pedro Square and Paseo de San Antonio, and this week we welcomed six new businesses to Post Street, which is quickly becoming a destination for art, food, music and community. Come stop by!

Saturday was a historic day for transit with the inaugural ride of our new electric Caltrain fleet — soon to be moving you between San Jose and San Francisco faster, safer, and emission free! 

Caltrain gave us a glimpse into our future. And what our future shows is something a lot of people have a hard time believing – we can meet our environmental goals while staying at the cutting edge of innovation and economic competitiveness. We’re proving in California that we can do both with smart infrastructure investments. 

Caltrain’s new, fully electric trains will replace the old, slower, and louder diesel-powered trains next month. Service levels will be increased during rush hours and all trains will be wi-fi enabled. Check them out the next time you are heading up the Peninsula!

Paseo de San Antonio Block Party

Thursday, August 15th at 5:00 PM

Paseo de San Antonio, Downtown

Stop by the next Downtown Block Party along Paseo de San Antonio! Bring your family and friends for a fun evening filled with live music, food and drinks, local artisans, and more. Learn more here. 

CityDance San Jose

Thursday, August 15th at 6:00PM to 9:00PM

Circle of Palms, 127 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113

Dance the night away in the heart of Downtown San Jose! With a live band and professional dance instructor, you can show off your skills or learn something new. Put on your dancing shoes and join CityDance for this free event! Learn more here.

FoodieLand Night Market

Friday, August 16th to Sunday, August 18th

Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Road, San Jose, CA 95111

Calling all foodies! FoodieLand is a family-friendly outdoor food festival, featuring over 175 vendors and meals from around the world. Indulge in flavorful dishes, try your hand at carnival games, enjoy live musical performances, shop local artisans, and more! Learn more and buy tickets here. 

Parque de los Pobladores Community Day

Saturday, August 24th at 8:45AM to 12:00PM

510 S 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113

We’re beautifying San Jose, one neighborhood at a time! Join PRNS at Parque de los Pobladores to pick up litter, remove weeds, and create a cleaner city. Learn more and RSVP here.

Thousands of San Joseans have come through to experience the new and improved CaliBunga! Our beloved East Side waterpark is open every weekend through September with a new food truck, shaded cabanas, and over a million gallons’ worth of water attractions. Cool off and come by: calibunga.com/plan-a-visit/tickets

The Buena Vista neighborhood just got cleaner — one piece of litter (and an illegally dumped refrigerator) at a time! Thanks to the work of the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association and dozens of dedicated neighbors, we helped residents throw out their unwanted junk and picked up trash around the area. Want to become part of the solution? Join us at our next community clean-up here.