City crews spent Monday clearing out San Jose’s largest homeless encampment.
The encampment sweep near Columbus Park comes despite strong objections from advocates over the unhoused, who said the city is offering little help to the 200 or so people being displaced.
“They told me I had 10 minutes to get our stuff out,” said Mario Hernandez, who was living at the encampment.
Hernandez said he lost his livelihood in the sweep as the merchandise he sells at flea markets is now gone. Hernandez said he is now left with the few items he was able to quickly stuff in a trash can.
Those displaced by the sweep said they have no clear destination on where to go next.
Sean White, who is among the unhoused, said he is recovering from back surgery and dealing with other medical issues. He said watching crews destroy his home is frustrating.
“I’ve lived here two year and I’m going to be downtown on the sidewalk like everybody else,” White said.
In an interview last week, Mayor Matt Mahan said the city would do its best to help those displaced during the sweep.
“We abate encampments for public safety reasons all the time,” Mahan said. “We can’t always offer housing or shelter. We do our best to coordinate large abatements with offers of shelter and services.”
The city said it plans to add another 800 shelter beds by the end of the year. But without those beds available now, many displaced by the sweep question why they are being removed now.
Once the encampment sweep is complete, the city plans to turn the area back into a community park with soccer fields and picnic tables. City crews will also be turning their sites toward another nearby encampment.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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