Valley Water this week evicted about 60 unhoused people from encampments on two of its properties in Gilroy, and homeless advocates say the residents have nowhere else to go.
“We ask the public to understand that if tents, and people, and carts of belongings begin to appear in new areas of Gilroy, these are internally displaced Gilroy residents—not people who have come here from elsewhere,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin of PitStop Outreach, a Gilroy-based nonprofit that offers services for homeless people.
The two properties in question are located along creek and levee facilities owned and maintained by Valley Water, the water district that provides drinking water and flood protection in Santa Clara County.
Valley Water officials have said the sites have become unsafe for the district’s staff, who have been met with threats of violence from some residents. Furthermore, if left unmanaged, trash and debris at the sites could create hazards or blockages in the creeks, resulting in flooding or property damage.
One of the properties is behind Walmart, along Llagas Creek off Renz Lane. Another is located off Tomkins Court along the west branch of Llagas Creek.
About 25-30 residents were living at each camp as of the end of October. Valley Water had supplied the sites with portable toilets and trash containers after the City of Gilroy began enforcing a local no-camping ordinance in 2022.
Valley Water began evicting residents and removing tents, trash, debris and belongings from both sites on Nov. 3-4. The district will store any personal belongings recovered from the sites for at least 90 days.
Residents remaining at the sites as of Nov. 4 are disabled people, who have been given one more week to move.
District officials had begun notifying the camp residents of the eviction on Sept. 30, with notices posted around the site and Valley Water staff informing the residents in person.
The district adopted a no-camping policy on its properties in November 2024, and has enforced that rule with encampment sweeps at sites in northern Santa Clara County since then.
Bernstein Chargin called this week’s evictions the “largest homeless encampment sweep in Gilroy history.” The people affected include seniors, people with disabilities and families.
Service providers like PitStop Outreach have become acquainted with almost all of those living at the two camps, as they are long-term homeless Gilroyans, Bernstein Chargin said. There are not nearly enough homeless shelter beds to house these residents, and they have not been refusing offers of services.
“These are long-term Gilroy residents; they did not come from somewhere else,” Bernstein Chargin said. “We know them.”
Valley Water staff have also come to know many of the residents of the camps in recent years. The district routinely sends maintenance crews to work on its creekside facilities at both camps, and those workers have been met with hostility from some of the unhoused residents, according to Valley Water officials.
Incidents in recent years include threats of violence toward Valley Water staff, brandishing of weapons and potentially dangerous unleashed dogs. Staff have called Gilroy Police when encountering illegal behaviors, and some of the residents have been arrested only to return to the camps months later, Valley Water staff said at the Oct. 28 board meeting.
At that meeting, City of Gilroy officials and homeless advocates pleaded with the board one more time for a delay in this week’s planned evictions. Despite ongoing efforts in recent months to find housing for the homeless residents, advocates and service providers remained without a solution.
“The dispersal of these encampment residents means that it will be harder to provide food, resources, and other services, and to protect the safety of some of our most vulnerable residents,” Bernstein Chargin said. “This is especially tragic coinciding with the withholding of SNAP benefits in November.”
Still, Valley Water board members and officials were adamant that the sites had to be cleaned up due to the safety concerns.
“I am not willing to send staff back out there after this week,” Valley Water Interim CEO Melanie Richardson said at the board meeting.
Valley Water staff added that they are still willing to work with city and county officials to find ongoing solutions and make sure the evicted people receive needed services.
Bernstein Chargin added that November is National Homeless Awareness Month. Those who need assistance—or wish to help—can contact PitStop Outreach, South County Community Services or C.A.R.A.S.
To get on the waiting list for shelter in Santa Clara County, call the Here4You hotline at 408.385.2400.
