Gilroy
– Forecasts of the coldest weather South Valley has seen in a
decade has prompted county officials to declare a state of
emergency, and inspired area homeless shelters to accept anyone who
arrives at their doors – regardless of capacity.
Gilroy – Forecasts of the coldest weather South Valley has seen in a decade has prompted county officials to declare a state of emergency, and inspired area homeless shelters to accept anyone who arrives at their doors – regardless of capacity.
“We are most concerned about the 3,000 unsheltered people in Santa Clara County,” said County Executive Pete Kutras. “We are launching a coordinated effort to ensure that no one is left out in the cold.”
The figure Kutras cited is far lower than the 7,000-plus homeless people counted in a survey two years ago. More than 400 of those people were found to live in Gilroy.
By declaring a state of emergency, the county can tap into additional resources needed to minimize the effect of extreme weather on such people. Officials are partnering with various agencies such as the American Red Cross and Valley Transportation Authority to provide emergency services. Silicon Valley Volunteer Center sent volunteers onto the streets Thursday night to locate homeless people and ensure that they’re aware of the expanded capacity at local shelters.
“Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s to the teens through the weekend,” said Jennifer Loving, chief operating officer for EHC LifeBuilders, the region’s primary shelter provider. “Those are temperatures where people could die, and we’re not turning anybody away.”
The agency operates three homeless shelters in Gilroy, San Jose and Sunnyvale. The Gilroy shelter is housed at the National Guard Armory at 8490 Wren Ave. and normally has capacity for 125 homeless people during the winter months.
Homeless people are treated to a hot dinner, a sleeping mat and blanket, and a cold breakfast before they file out of the building in the early morning hours. The shelter operates from 6pm to 6am each night between November and March.
This is not the first time EHC has resorted to emergency operations. EHC re-opened the Armory last year after the official end of the shelter season due to heavy winter rains that stretched into April.
The Gilroy facility is not known to regularly overflow capacity, but it can easily reach its maximum during extreme weather conditions, according to Dina Campeau, chairperson of a nonprofit consortium known as the South County Collaborative.
“That will probably provide respite to the people who are really hard-core, street-based, who won’t come into the armory for anything,” Campeau said. “This announcement is to reach them – and the folks who are staying in their cars.”
As the cold weather sets in, a partially constructed emergency shelter sits idle in north Gilroy. Last September, EHC officials announced an indefinite delay in construction of the Sobrato Transitional Shelter. The project relied heavily on pledges of hard-to-get material and labor from major homebuilders. A slow-down in the housing market made it difficult for those companies to make good on those pledges. EHC representatives did not return calls Thursday afternoon asking for the latest status of the project.
Once complete, the facility will house 140 beds for single adults and families and will provide job training, counseling and other services.
