Dear Neighbor, 

Last week, we re-opened the Arena Hotel – which has been rehabilitated to provide basic, decent interim housing for our homeless neighbors to come indoors and enroll in supportive services to move on to a more permanent home. Each person receiving a room will have a case manager and an individualized plan for achieving permanent housing and other life goals, such as employment and sobriety. One day, when the need is less acute, the Arena Hotel itself will be converted into permanent housing. 

As we open the hotel, we are simultaneously clearing a stretch of encampments just blocks away along the Guadalupe River thanks to an Encampment Resolution Grant from the State. Each person currently living along the river is being offered dignified shelter, including at the Arena Hotel. Those who refuse to come indoors will have to find another place to camp. Once clear, we will continue to maintain this stretch of the river encampment-free.

This is the formula for ending street homelessness: every person living outside should have access to basic, dignified shelter–whether interim housing units and converted motel rooms or treatment center and mental health hospital placements –and when this shelter is provided, they should be required to come indoors. 

Thus far, our collective unwillingness to treat street homelessness like the emergency it is has prevented us from making the progress we could. This is why a few colleagues and I are bringing forward legislation to recommit our city to the work of expanding indoor placements for every person on our streets and removing barriers to standing up interim shelter options.

We’ve seen elected officials offer excuse after excuse for our state’s failure to adequately address homelessness. We’ve blamed the courts, we’ve blamed the cost of building housing, and we’ve blamed the homeless.

It’s time for the blame game to end. It’s time California created safe, decent and affordably-constructed shelter for everyone – and then required those sleeping outdoors to use it.

We know what works. And now that we’ve proven it, we need to reduce our timelines, streamline our processes and prioritize bringing people indoors now.

Sincerely, 

Mayor Matt

Hundreds of you stepped forward last month as we fought together to get 200 people indoors and out of our streets, creeks and parks. And your message was heard. 

The VTA board voted to come back to our next meeting with a draft agreement to place 200 tiny homes–given to San Jose by Governor Newsom–next to the Cerone Maintenance Yard in North San Jose, where VTA owns 17 acres of unused land.  

Now, we have one more vote to take. We have to decide whether we move forward with this agreement or go back to the drawing board, delay this process, and risk losing this incredible opportunity to expand basic, dignified shelter and move people out of encampments. 

Your voice made the difference last time – and I know it can again. Click here to receive more details on how to join Thursday’s meeting.

Last month, we welcomed our first 20 pilot neighborhoods into the brand new TogetherSJ program. Over the next 9 months, these neighborhoods will receive the tools and training needed to expand their neighborhood associations, clean up their streets, better protect each other, and most importantly – get to know each other.

Our TogetherSJ neighborhoods come from every corner of the city. From Bakerwest to Melody Serenade, from District 1 to District 10.

In August, each of these neighborhood associations applied because they wanted to come together and work shoulder-to-shoulder to make the kind of change they want to see in San Jose. And they were selected because they are dedicated to that change. 

Our pilot neighborhood associations will start by surveying the neighbors. The initial survey will measure neighbors’ baseline level of connectedness, how they perceive their relationships with each other, and what they feel are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing their neighborhood. 

They will then be offered a series of learning modules – from cleanups and tree plantings to Neighborhood Watch and CERT trainings. But the most important aspect of this program isn’t education. It’s community. It’s the BBQs and pickleball tournaments, block parties and holiday celebrations.

These events will help them get to know one another and trust each other while they make their streets cleaner and safer. To me, this is the foundation of the entire initiative because people coming together with one common goal is how change is created. 

If you live in one of the neighborhoods highlighted above, and you aren’t yet part of your neighborhood association, our team will be knocking on your door with an invite in the months ahead! If this program proves successful in our first 20 pilot neighborhoods, we will expand in the years to come. 

The last 8 months in office have flown by. Inauguration feels like just yesterday, but already we are starting to see small shifts in our community as we focus City Hall on the basics – homelessness, blight and crime. We have a long way to go to create the safe, clean city we all deserve, but I want to celebrate our work together and the progress we’ve made so far at our annual State of the City. Capacity is limited, so RSVP today: http://qrco.de/StateOfTheCity

San Jose’s roads once again proved deadly this week. We lost multiple community members whose families are facing the worst tragedy imaginable. 

All of us — drivers, pedestrians, and government — have a role to play in making our streets safer and preventing these heartbreaking and unnecessary tragedies. City Hall is taking steps to increase road safety through education, over 200 infrastructure improvement projects, and increased enforcement. You can do your part to help keep our community safe by following these tips.

Beautiful Day with WestGate Church

Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th

WestGate Church's Beautiful Day program each year brings thousands of volunteers to volunteer in our parks, schools, and nonprofits that serve residents in our community. This year, Beautiful Day is on October 7th and 8th and has about 11 projects in San Jose that will benefit the residents of our community. Learn more and register at: joinbeautifulday.org/weekend/



Annual Neighborhoods Conference

Saturday, October 14th at 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM

Yerba Buena High School, 1855 Lucretia Avenue, San Jose, CA 95122

Team Mahan and our Parks & Rec Department are hosting the first annual Neighborhoods Conference! The Neighborhoods Conference will bring together City of San José representatives, neighborhood association leaders, and other agencies to collaborate on community building, share resources, and foster connections. Residents and community leaders are invited to attend and learn more about how to access City services designed to make our neighborhoods safer and cleaner. If you’re interested in joining us, please RSVP here.

We doubled up again last weekend! It was the third Saturday in a row that we’ve hosted two clean-ups in one day. Great to collaborate with Parks & Rec, UA Local Union 393, and Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful to clean up Rosemary Gardens Park and a stretch of Coyote Creek. Join us at the next one: www.bit.ly/cleansj

20 years ago, San Jose and San Jose State University came together to do something Silicon Valley is known well for — innovate. MLK Library was created as the very first city-university joint library, and since then, has hosted more than 43 million visitors and circulated nearly 250 million books. This was not the first time our partnership led to something incredible, and will certainly not be the last!

¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana, San José! All year long, the Hispanic community enriches our city with culture – sharing incredible food, dancing, low riding, art, and so many more special traditions. ¡Viva San José!

Honored to celebrate Enkutatash with San Jose’s vibrant Ethiopian community and Vice Mayor Kamei. Ethiopian New Year does not just signify a new beginning, but also celebrates universal values of peace, joy, and resilience. Melkam Addis Amet to you and your family!