The leaders of Survivors of the Streets, a committee of individuals who have been unhoused, need your support to make sure we include the affordable housing supply in San Jose. (SOS is one of our internal partners at Sacred Heart Community Service and SURJ has decided to support this action.) When someone is placed in affordable housing often they are only required to pay 30% of their income, which makes staying off of the streets a viable option for them. When someone has a major life change, such as getting a divorce, losing a job, having a serious medical crisis, having an affordable place to live or receiving housing assistance to temporarily pay for rent makes all the difference in keeping families, children, and seniors in their homes. The City of San Jose budget proposed cutting all spending for NEW affordable housing projects and homelessness prevention services. In 2020, voters supported Measure E because we know that we need permanent affordable housing to keep people in their homes. Now, the city council wants to go against the will of the people and change what the Measure E money is used for. Instead of affordable housing, they want to use the money on temporary bandaids that won’t address the problem and will just sweep it under the rug. On Tuesday, we'll demand permanent solutions. Years of failing to invest in affordable housing while adding thousands of high-wage jobs in San Jose has driven up rents and pushed more and more people into homelessness. Let's not make the same mistake twice. Building more permanent affordable homes is the proven long-term solution to unsheltered homelessness.
When: Rally at noon, City Council meeting at 1:30pm, public comment when they get to item 3.3
Where: City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara Street
For more information about how to join the rally, how to write public comment and other details, see: http://bit.ly/dontmesswithSJMeasureEmay162023
Wear your red SURJ t-shirt if you have one. If you can’t attend the meeting, the link above has instructions about how to attend online as well as how to submit written comment.
