San Jose faces challenges accommodating new wave of homeless people seeking housing

(KRON) — Columbus Park in San Jose is nearly empty of the RVs and tents that once filled the area following a city sweep that began nearly two weeks ago.

Despite the clearance, new tents have appeared as people seeking housing continue to arrive, drawn by reports of shelter and hotel placements. Around two dozen people have arrived at Columbus Park since the sweep started.

Belinda Royball, who came to San Jose from Stockton, became homeless after her mother’s death and is seeking any form of housing.

“I heard there may be helping with some housing and I need housing,” Royball said. “I need a hotel.”

The city of San Jose stated that while outreach continues, they cannot guarantee shelter spots for those who moved into the area after Aug.18. Once the park is cleared, it will be fenced off and designated as a “no encampment zone” in preparation for revitalization.

In a statement, the City of San Jose said that it is “continuing outreach to any new homeless neighbors who move into the vicinity of the site but we cannot promise that folks who moved into the area after Aug. 18 will have a spot in one of our shelters.”

Watch the full report from KRON4’s Jack Molmud in the video at the top of this story.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.