Caltrans plans to begin sweeping an encampment in East San Jose starting next week, with operations continuing until the end of October. The affected area is located north of Interstate 280, specifically around McLaughlin Avenue, Woodborough Place, and Olinder Park.
Many of the residents currently in this encampment were previously living in “the Jungle,” a large unsanctioned encampment near Coyote Creek and Story Road that the city dismantled earlier this year. Carlos, 48, a resident preparing for the upcoming sweep, stated that outreach workers missed him and others when the city cleared “the Jungle,” despite promises to provide shelter for all residents. He expressed feeling “deceived” and forgotten.
Emma Hartung, an organizer with Showing up for Racial Justice, estimates that about 40 residents were left without shelter following the earlier “Jungle” sweep. She counted 36 to 45 homeless people living near Olinder Park in recent weeks, many of whom came from “the Jungle.” A Caltrans spokesperson, Pedro Quintana, reported a count of 20 people in the area.
Hartung and other advocates attempted to secure housing for these residents, bringing some to the San Jose Housing Department office. However, she said housing officials called the police when she returned with residents, prompting them to leave. Hartung voiced disappointment that the department sent police instead of meeting with constituents they had promised housing.
While Mayor Matt Mahan has stated that some people reject shelter, leading him to advocate for citations, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, whose district includes East San Jose, said these residents want to be housed. Kalra’s office has been involved in helping residents obtain identification cards and is pushing for the sweep to be delayed until housing is secured. He called sweeping someone from a place of stability without offering housing “cruel” and suggested the city could improve conditions with restrooms or dumpsters.
Caltrans spokesperson Quintana confirmed that the agency works with local service providers to help people find shelter options before encampment removals. San Jose Housing spokesperson Sarah Fields noted that the city’s practice for large-scale encampment abatements is to provide significant outreach and engagement prior to the start, citing Coyote Meadows as an example.
However, some residents like Jobino Medina Sarabia, 77, were offered shelter but found it unsuitable. Sarabia received a placement in the Cerone tiny home village in North San Jose but could not accept it because it was too far from his doctor in East San Jose, where he receives regular treatment for health conditions. He described the village as not being housing, feeling more like “a new prison.”
Sarabia, who has been homeless for over a decade, relies on a walker to get around and takes the bus to his clinic. He is on a housing waitlist but requires a location close to his medical care. He expressed distress over having to find another place to camp and articulated his ideal situation as having secure housing and not needing to boil his own water.
For homeless individuals in San Jose, encampment sweeps are a recurring source of stress, involving the need to pack belongings, the fear of losing valuables, and the constant search for a new place to shelter until the cycle repeats.
