02/11/2022
San Jose City Council200 E. Santa Clara StreetSan Jose, CA 95111 Dear Mayor Liccardo, Vice Mayor Jones, and Councilmembers Arenas, Carrasco, Cohen,Davis, Esparza, Foley, Jimenez, Mahan, and Peralez, Re: 2/15 Agenda Item 8.3- Proposed Changes to the Allocation and Category Names ofMeasure E Real Property Transfer Taxes.
With the passage of Measure E in 2020, the city of San Jose has an ongoing local fundingsource to provide much needed resources to various housing solutions. As the housing crisiscontinues to impact residents throughout the city, it is of utmost importance that we identifyopportunities to make significant strides in addressing various housing challenges affecting ourcommunities.
As we begin to discuss potential changes in spending allocation for Measure E funds, we wouldlike to take a moment to remind everyone of the deep thought that went into the originalspending plan so that Measure E funds could support each solution accordingly. From homelessprevention, to production and preservation of affordable housing, all of these priorities arecritical towards addressing the numerous housing challenges facing us today. We acknowledgethat since the passage of Measure E in 2020, new challenges have risen. We commend citystaff for their recommendation so that new work can be appropriately funded, while existinginitiatives still have adequate resources to continue to move forward. We would recommend thefollowing modification be added to staff’s recommendation:
● No less than 10% of overall funding be allocated specifically for homelessprevention and rental assistance for the funding tranche under (b)4 (homeless
support programs including prevention and rental assistance, shelterconstruction and operations).
This modification is critical to ensuring that funding for homeless prevention and rentalassistance does not get taken away for other uses. Homeless prevention and rental assistancehave always been a crucial resource for families at risk of eviction, the COVID-19 pandemic hasfurther amplified that reality. It is of utmost importance that as we consider alternative uses offunds from Measure E, that we do not put any existing priorities in a vulnerable position. Welook forward to ongoing local funding sources such as Measure E to continue to support allhousing solutions.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Loving, CEO, Destination Home
Regina Williams, Executive Director, Silicon Valley@Home Jeffrey Buchanan, Policy Director, Working Partnerships USA Andrea Portillo, Organizing and Policy Manager, SOMOS Mayfair Nadia Aziz, Housing Directing Attorney, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Monday, Feb. 14, 2022
Mayor Sam Liccardo
City of San Jose Councilmembers
City of San Jose
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Dear Mayor Liccardo and San Jose Councilmembers;
On behalf of the Abode Services, its board ad staff, I am writing to express our support for the City of San Jose Housing Department’s recommendation on the allocation for Measure E funds. We found the Feb. 3 memo from Jacky Morales- Ferrand and Jim Shannon to the City Council to be reasonable and representative of the allocation priorities necessary to effectively and efficiently reach the goals included in the community plan to end homelessness.
Abode Services is currently engaged in a continuum of impact on the local homeless crisis in San Jose. We operate interim/emergency sites like the SureStay Hotel, Evans Lane, and Pedro Street. We provide rental assistance for chronic homeless individuals and rapid housing for families. We own and are developing five housing permanent supportive housing (PSH) projects while providing services at multiple other PSH sites in San Jose. Because of our broad range of services and housing opportunities in San Jose, we have developed a deep and unique perspective into what works and does not work to address homelessness in San Jose. It is out of this perspective that we fully support city staff recommendations. Our experience tells us that in order to make progress on homelessness in San Jose, we need to focus on investing in long-term options while providing some emergency solutions to those who are unhoused and then struggle with the resulting poor quality of life issues.
How government addresses homelessness must not come out of an analysis that demands sacrificing quality longer term solutions like PSH with innovative but rarely sustainable short-term solutions. Permanent supportive housing is worth the investment for it provides a quality and sustainability that unhoused people and the rest of the community deserve. Many cities fail to get this balance right because there is so much political pressure to address the immediate crisis that these cities fail to invest in the solutions that take time and patience to put into place. We applaud the city’s balanced approach to addressing homelessness represented in the above-reference memo.
Thank you for your leadership on the community plan to end homelessness. Abode Services is proud to be positioned to partner with you to grow the impact on homelessness in San Jose.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at [email protected]
Sincerely,
Louis Chicoine
Abode Services, CEO
Cc: Jacky Morales-Ferrand
2/15/22, 8:34 AM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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This message is from outside the City email system Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources February 15 Council Agenda Item 8.3 Propose Changes To E Funds Aurelia Sanchez <
Tue 2/15/2022 7:23 AM
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Hello Mayor and Council members,
Please consider increase funding to the Homeless Prevention And Rental Assistance program I strongly feel preventing evictions and acting beforehand for families and individuals is so important. Consider this as acting before tragedy strikes and this program should include homeowners and residents who are not legal residents as long as they have a tax ID number There are times when residents who are in the higher income brackets have events happen that can impact their lives and income and special consideration needs to be extended to these individuals in our city Our city should be a pioneer in helping people stay in their homes and in our city.
Best,
Aurelia Sanchez