Long Story Short...

Here’s what you need to know this week — in 30 seconds or less:

• No more encampment whack-a-mole: “Responsibility to Shelter” is working — 68% of former Columbus Park residents are now indoors.
• Demolition to dignity — from breaking ground on 700 new homes near Berryessa BART to Rue Ferrari’s new expansion, we’re building a better future.
• An inside look: what the mayors of California’s biggest cities talk about.

Keep scrolling for all the data and details.

Dear Neighbor,

Some say you can’t change a person. But by enforcing norms, you can change behavior. 

When states said that wearing seatbelts was no longer a choice, traffic fatalities dropped by more than 50% nationwide between 1980 and 2009.

When cities said that recycling was the responsible thing to do, and implemented fines as an enforcement mechanism, compliance jumped from under 20% to more than 80% in places like San Francisco and Seattle. 

Earlier this year, we did something similar. We established a new standard of behavior. We stated clearly: camping cannot be a choice in San José when safe, dignified shelter is available. And as we offered every single person living at Columbus park a safe place indoors, we saw proof of concept. 

When I first proposed the “Responsibility to Shelter” policy to the Council, we faced a lot of pushback from homeless advocates and questions about how we would implement this expectation. 

Would vulnerable people end up in jail? Would we really be able to track refusals? How would our outreach workers and thinly staffed police force actually hold people accountable? 

People had very strong reactions. Much like when changes around recycling and seatbelts were proposed. In fact, Congress reportedly received more letters in fall of 1974 about the seatbelt-ignition interlock requirement as they did about the Watergate scandal. 

Clearly, change is a hard pill to swallow. But it’s a necessary one if you’re pushing for different outcomes. Whether you’re trying to save lives by requiring seatbelts or requiring people come indoors. 

As we cleared Columbus Park, about 197 of the 370 people encamped in the park initially accepted our offers of housing, or roughly 53% of the people living at the site. 

But what happened to the other 47% of people who refused repeated offers of housing and chose to instead move along? 

I’m going to tell you about a specific group in particular. This group of about 25 RVs relocated from Columbus to private property in the area. As the City prepared to abate them at the request of the property owner, they were once again offered the same RV buyback program that they had refused at Columbus Park. If they accepted, they would receive $2,000 and a space in one of our interim housing communities – an opportunity that, while transitional, doesn’t have a hard end date and is designed to be “low barrier,” meaning they can stay there with their partner, their pet and their possessions for as long as it takes to get back to a more independent and permanent living arrangement. 

For a second time, none of the 25 households accepted. And as the City attempted to begin the abatement, homeless advocates and a couple of well-intended elected officials suggested that the vehicles go to a VTA parking lot without VTA approval, a plan for services, or any engagement with the community. From there, VTA moved the RVs to another one of their parking lots in South San Jose right next to a neighborhood, still without a long-term plan in place (and therefore no onsite staffing or infrastructure) and without any community engagement. Obviously, this is not how we create safe interim solutions for anyone and it’s not how we build trust with our community. 

Within a week, VTA issued a deadline for the RVs to exit the site (which is a public parking lot that needs to be safe, clean and accessible to the entire public) or face towing for illegal parking. 

While the City had not created this situation, given the location within our municipal boundaries and the impact on our residents, we once again offered the RV buyback and interim housing option. And this time, people at the site changed their mind — they said yes. 17 people made the choice to come indoors. People who had refused multiple prior offers. 

They weren’t the only ones, either. The number of people housed from Columbus today stands at 254 – or 68% of those who had been encamped in the park. And that number continues to grow as we repeat our offer of shelter while enforcing no-encampment zones and basic parking regulations. 

This is how Responsibility to Shelter is supposed to work. People may not say yes the first time when offered housing, but once they understand we are serious when we say you can’t choose to camp in San José, they often make the right choice for themselves and for the collective good. 

The goal of our Responsibility to Shelter initiative isn’t punitive. We don’t want to cite or arrest anyone. We want them to make the right decision – and for someone who has been chronically homeless, that decision can be hard. But what’s harder – what’s inhumane – is leaving people to suffer on the streets with no access to the services that will get them back to self-sufficiency and no relief for the neighbors suffering the impacts. 

Stay tuned as we continue to make clear that camping is no longer a choice when we have safe, dignified shelter available. 

Sincerely,

Mayor Matt

This week, we kicked off a demolition and we celebrated an expansion. Because if we’re requiring people to come indoors, we need to have somewhere for them to go. 

First, the tear down. We (almost) began with a bang on a new housing project near Berryessa BART. They let me try the excavator to get things started, and I have to say – if this whole Mayor thing doesn’t work out, I may have a promising career in demolition! 

This new neighborhood in North San Jose will soon be home to hundreds of San Joseans. There will be 700 homes to be exact, with nearly 40% of them affordable, all within walking distance of Berryessa BART. 

We need to build a lot more housing in places where it makes sense: near transit, jobs, and infrastructure. This is one of 68 locations in San José where dense housing projects like this make sense. And in roughly 2 years, hundreds of people will call this new neighborhood home.



Now, the build up. This week, we also celebrated the Rue Ferrari interim housing expansion.

Because of sites like this one, San José has nearly tripled its “sheltered” rate for our neighbors experiencing homelessness— from just 16% to 40%. That means we’re close to the point where over half of our homeless neighbors have a bed to sleep in at night and access to the services that will help them become more self-sufficient.

But here is the reality: this site, like many in San José, was only possible because of a funding mechanism at the state-level called the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant. These dollars, paired with our local Measure E funds, are the only significant and flexible funding stream we have to build and operate basic shelter. And this year, these dollars were entirely cut from the state budget. 

Alongside other big city mayors across our state, I have been advocating to our Governor and Legislature to restore these dollars so we can continue to make progress toward ending the humanitarian crisis on our streets. Personally, I find it irresponsible for Sacramento to not provide consistent annual funding for pragmatic solutions to homelessness when it is consistently ranked as one of our residents’ top concerns and we have a $300 billion annual budget. 

In fact, HHAP was a major topic of conversation at our very first in-person Big City Mayor’s Summit. The mayors of California’s 13 largest cities (San José is #3 BTW!) gathered in San Francisco this week to talk about our legislative priorities for the year ahead. 

As Big City Mayors we’re all on the frontlines of solving the problems you care most about. And we all agree — we need more partnership and problem solving in Sacramento to make an impact where it’s needed most. 

On a city-to-city level, we’ve seen the ROI of partnerships. We organized to help pass Prop 1 to build more treatment beds. We organized to expand conservatorship laws for those suffering from the most severe mental illnesses. And though we failed this year, we have had success in the past when we came together and pushed for the dollars we need to address the biggest crisis we face — unsheltered homelessness. 

We talked about what we need out of our gubernatorial candidates. And we are aligned on one very important goal this year — the restoration of the aforementioned HHAP dollars so that we can continue to move people indoors and restore our public spaces to community use. 

We’ll also be working to remove barriers to building housing where it makes sense, secure investment in infrastructure, especially the grid, and demand that the state and counties expand mental health treatment, and I won’t give up on a statewide fair share framework that defines responsibilities for every city and county when it comes to addressing homelessness. 

I would advise the people who want to lead our state to listen to the people leading our cities. We know what our residents need — and this year, we won’t be afraid to advocate for it. 

Every week, we spend hours pulling shopping carts out of our 140 miles of waterways — clearly, the current system isn’t working. 

Thanks to Senator Dave Cortese’s leadership and our Governor’s support, cities will have the authority to act swiftly and responsibly. SB 753 enables cities like San José to recover taxpayer costs associated with retrieving, returning and, when necessary, disposing of stolen stopping carts. Our goal is to incentivize retailers to invest in loss prevention strategies, such as locking mechanisms on cart wheels, to help prevent this ongoing blight and environment destruction. 

To put it in perspective, we find over 2,000 stolen shopping carts per year abandoned on public lands and spend far more taxpayer money retrieving and disposing of these carts than it costs retailers to replace them. This is why we need to put a price on the city's efforts to recover carts and keep our public spaces clean.

San Jose Sharks vs. LA Kings 

Tuesday, October 28th at 8:00 PM

SAP Center

Cheer on your SJ Sharks as they take on the LA Kings! Wear your teal, bring your energy, and grab your tickets here.

E-Waste Recycling Event by The Trash Punx

Saturday, November 15th from 9:00 AM

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Clean the world one piece of trash at a time with The Trash Punx! Safely dispose of your electronic waste, and find more event information here. 

Community Day: Dia de los Muertos

November 1st from 11:00 AM

San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S Market St, San Jose CA 95113

Save the date for Community Day: Día de los Muertos, a full day of live entertainment, cultural demonstrations, and an eclectic mix of artmaking experiences. Join us as we collaborate with local artists, partners, and organizations for a diverse and multicultural celebration. Museum admission is free all day, 11am–6pm. RSVP here. 

Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet

Sunday, November 9th

San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

Celebrate America’s favorite Christmas tradition with an international cast that unites world-class talent from renowned ballet capitals across the globe. Don’t miss this chance to create memories of a lifetime with friends and family of all ages. Get tickets here. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Musical

November 5-9th

Montgomery Theatre, 271 South Market St

Based on the beloved book series, this hilarious and heartfelt show follows Greg Heffley as he navigates middle school, friendships, and growing pains—with plenty of laughs along the way. Perfect for the whole family, this high-energy musical brings favorite characters to life on stage. Grab your seats today here. 

Fall Career Fair by work2future

November 12th, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

San Jose City College

Calling jobseekers of all ages & experience levels! Looking for your dream job? Join work2future and San José City College at the 2025 Fall Career Fair at SJCC. Free entry and parking, register here. 

I drive by this building every single day. I hear about it from residents nearly every week. We’ve painted murals on the walkway, we’ve done clean-ups, but this building needs a whole lot more than a litter stick and a tub of paint. Now, it’s getting the restoration it deserves. I can’t wait for the day the Lawerence Hotel is restored to its former glory and is no longer an eyesore for our Downtown neighbors. We take how our city looks seriously in San José — because it impacts how you feel. A safe city is a clean city — a city you can be proud to call home.

The best place to be in the midst of an emergency is San José. You may have seen a little smoke earlier this week near Alum Rock Park — but the reason you didn’t hear much about it was due to the immediate and comprehensive response by our city teams.  

Shortly after the first fire calls came in, San José Park Rangers immediately began evacuating the park to ensure public safety and worked to alert nearby residents of the growing threat. SJPD Dispatch contacted the rangers over the public safety radio, reporting that hikers were trapped on the trails as the fire rapidly approached. Within minutes, the rangers located the two hikers and guided them to safety, away from the fast-moving blaze that had already grown to the size of three football fields.

Following the rescue, our rangers continued to patrol the trails and surrounding areas while providing crucial, real-time updates to the SJFD.

Thanks to their swift action and coordination with Fire and Police, lives were saved, and a dangerous situation was brought under control. Being a park ranger is a rewarding career — follow San José PRNS to stay updated on future recruitments. And as always, recruitment is open for our police and fire departments! Find more information here.

I look forward to two things above all else each week — spending time with Silvia and our kids each night before bedtime and spending Saturday morning with all of you. Last week, we worked on a project along the Guadalupe River Trail that I have been looking forward to for a long time. Not only was the work we were doing incredibly satisfying, but we also got to see neighbors shaking hands, meeting each other and building community.

In a world that often feels so divided, that is one of the greatest things that has come out of our weekly clean-ups. Thanks to SJSU College Corps, San José Conservation Corps, Councilmember Mulcahy and the D6 team, and Korean American Youth Leadership Program for making it possible. Join us next time: bit.ly/cleansj

Art inspires and connects us across cultures and history, and thanks to artist Zheng Chongbin and gallery owner Jianhau Shu, Downtown San José now has another way to be inspired and feel connected. Explore the gallery website here.