Plan to put homeless camp near San Jose police HQ stirs concern

A plan to temporarily place a homeless encampment next to the San Jose Police Department is stirring concern it will amplify tension between the two sides.

San Jose, which has criminalized homelessness, aims to put the temporary camp in a parking lot adjacent to the police department at 201 West Mission Street, the San Jose Spotlight reported. Housing advocates say the project will stoke mistrust.

“It definitely doesn’t make sense to me to put it next to the police who have been used to terrorize unhoused residents,” Silicon Valley De-Bug organizer Liz Gonzalez told the outlet.

Gonzalez says homeless residents often describe their living conditions as being prison-like. She’s worried that will intensify if they have to live next door to the police. “Who would want to live there under, maybe, increased surveillance?”

Housing Director Jacky Morales-Ferrand called the lot an ideal location because it has access to sewer, electrical and water systems. “The proximity of the Guadalupe Parkway community to the police station has never been raised as a concern,” Morrales-Ferrand said.

Geneva Strickland, who is homeless, said that while police treat them like criminals, she would still prefer to have a roof over head than nothing at all.

“If you’re a woman out here by yourself on the streets and you’re offered a place to lock your door, you’d be stupid not to do it no matter where it’s at,” Strickland said.

Housing advocates say police often run warrant checks throughout homeless encampments, which has taught them to fear officers. They also expressed concern that the new site would lead to an increase in arrests.

City officials broke ground on Feb. 9 and hope to house residents by this fall.

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[SJS] — Victoria Pruitt