The council of San Jose is seeking for the solution to the homeless problem. They are considering various controversial solutions to get homeless people off the streets. The scheduled public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 5, when the council will debate various measures.

Last year a large homeless encampment, so-called “The Jungle”, was dismantled, leaving 5,000 homeless people scattered around the city. While the city believed the encampment needed to go, they didn’t go in with a coherent plan for its residents. As a result, the rest of the city is now seeing the scale of its issue. Without a single place to gather, the unhoused people of San Jose have fanned out across the city. It seems likely that those pushing for the encampment’s removal didn’t want this to happen.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says that it is a serious issue that requires a lot of tools to be solved. But does he have a plan for actually addressing the problem?

What solutions to the homeless problem are out there?

A number of measures have been proposed to solve the problem. One of them is providing homeless people with temporary housing in manufactured homes on Evans Lane. Another proposed solution is permanent housing at an apartment complex on Senter Road with 162 available units.

The complex was approved by the planning commission but was appealed by the area residents. While Mayor Ricardo understands the concerns, he is positive permanent housing is a safer solution to the homeless problem. Homeless people are already living in the area on the streets and it will be a better solution to get them housed.

Another proposed option is to build an encampment sanctioned by the city following Portland’s example.

The less controversial option is to offer $5 million to landlords for capital improvements to house homeless veterans.