san
jose
,
calif.
—
the
makeshift
tents
and
debris
stretching
for
nearly
a
mile
along
a
creek
in
san
jose
are
partly
obscured
from
the
view
of
drivers
on
a
nearby
road.
but
this
homeless
camp
in
the
heart
of
silicon
valley
—
a
full
##number##
acres
of
mismatched
belongings
,
shopping
carts
,
clotheslines
and
wooden
shanties
—
is
widely
seen
as
the
nation’s
largest.
or
it
was
until
thursday
:
shortly
after
##number##
a.m.
,
san
jose
officials
sent
in
crews
to
clear
out
the
jungle
,
as
the
notorious
encampment
is
known
,
after
a
year-and-a-half-long
effort
to
find
more
permanent
quarters
for
the
##number##
or
so
inhabitants.
but
that
effort
was
only
partly
successful
,
given
that
the
real
estate
market
here
has
become
one
of
the
priciest
in
the
country.
at
least
a
third
of
the
jungle’s
residents
were
not
placed
in
housing
and
are
now
wondering
where
to
go.
"
some
of
us
are
starting
to
break
down
our
stuff
and
take
what
we
feel
is
really
important
,
"
said
grace
hilliard
,
speaking
the
day
before
the
camp
was
bulldozed.
ms.
hilliard
,
who
gave
her
age
as
"
approaching
##number##
,
"
has
been
living
in
the
encampment
off
and
on
for
##number##
years
and
shares
a
small
tent
with
her
chihuahua.
she
said
she
was
among
the
lucky
ones
because
chronic
health
problems
have
guaranteed
her
a
bed
in
a
shelter.
santiago
gomez
,
##number##
,
on
the
other
hand
,
does
not
see
any
prospects.
"
no
,
no
place
,
"
he
said.
"
i
don’t
know
where.
"
neither
does
richard
martinez
,
##number##
,
a
former
information
technology
worker
who
approached
a
reporter
to
ask
about
how
to
get
a
housing
voucher.
wearing
a
wool
cap
and
standing
in
the
rain
,
he
said
he
did
not
know
where
he
and
his
wife
would
go.
san
jose
,
pressured
by
the
state
and
regional
water
authorities
to
clean
up
the
trash
and
human
waste
in
the
creek
that
are
polluting
san
francisco
bay
,
committed
$4
million
to
move
as
many
jungle
residents
as
possible
into
subsidized
housing.
so
far
,
it
has
found
apartments
for
##number##
people
and
promised
to
subsidize
their
rent
for
two
years.
it
has
subsidy
vouchers
for
##number##
more
,
but
it
cannot
find
available
apartments.
"
there
is
just
a
lot
of
competition
for
every
rental
unit
"
in
silicon
valley
,
said
jennifer
loving
,
executive
director
of
destination
:
home
,
which
has
been
helping
the
city
place
people.
"
we
have
rounded
up
funding
to
help
people
have
temporary
housing
,
but
the
real
challenge
in
this
whole
region
is
the
cost
of
housing
is
so
high.
"
according
to
zillow
real
estate
research
,
the
median
rent
in
san
jose
as
of
october
was
$2,934
a
month.
for
the
wider
san
jose
metropolitan
area
,
it
was
$3,163
a
month
—
up
##number##
percent
in
one
year.
on
thursday
morning
,
scores
of
jungle
residents
hauled
their
belongings
out
of
makeshift
homes.
many
pushed
shopping
carts
piled
high
with
blankets
,
clothing
and
dishes
,
tugging
as
the
wheels
got
stuck
in
the
mud.
many
had
dogs
on
leashes.
when
asked
where
they
would
go
tonight
,
"
i
have
no
idea
"
was
the
common
refrain.
then
,
three
city
garbage
trucks
rolled
onto
the
upper
plateau
of
the
encampment
,
and
about
##number##
workers
in
hazardous-materials
suits
and
hard
hats
began
lifting
garbage
into
the
trucks.
mattresses
,
tarps
,
plywood
,
a
microwave
,
broken
umbrellas
—
all
were
thrown
in
along
with
piles
of
debris.
later
in
the
day
,
bulldozers
got
to
work
on
the
lower
part
of
the
jungle.
veronica
mackenzie
,
##number##
,
had
lived
there
with
her
boyfriend
,
her
aunt
,
her
aunt’s
boyfriend
and
two
dogs.
"
it’s
going
to
be
a
long
night
,
"
she
said
as
she
maneuvered
two
carts
up
an
embankment.
"
they
should
have
provided
housing
for
everyone
out
here
,
or
shelter
or
something
,
instead
of
just
pushing
us
out
on
the
streets
,
"
she
said.
ray
bramson
,
the
city’s
homeless
response
manager
,
said
san
jose
had
procured
##number##
more
shelter
beds
starting
thursday
night
,
in
addition
to
the
##number##
beds
throughout
santa
clara
county
that
recently
became
available
with
the
opening
of
winter
homeless
shelters.
but
jungle
residents
who
had
places
to
go
have
been
leaving
for
days.
those
who
left
on
thursday
seemed
to
be
those
who
did
not.
"
nobody
should
be
in
the
streets
—
that
is
the
problem
with
this
whole
thing
,
"
said
sandy
perry
,
a
minister
and
outreach
worker
with
the
affordable
housing
network
who
has
been
at
the
jungle
daily
trying
to
help.
while
he
agrees
that
the
jungle
,
with
its
piles
of
garbage
,
buckets
of
human
waste
and
now
rising
creek
waters
,
"
is
not
a
nice
place
to
live
,
"
mr.
perry
said
the
city
ought
to
have
a
better
plan
for
homeless
people
in
general.
more
than
a
few
of
the
encampment
residents
said
they
were
victims
of
rent
increases.
yvonne
vabiseo
grew
up
in
san
jose
and
had
a
job
and
an
apartment
until
recently.
"
i
worked
at
dollar
tree
,
"
she
said.
"
i
had
a
car
and
my
own
place.
"
she
lost
her
job
just
as
her
rent
was
raised
,
prodding
her
into
homelessness.
nobody
seems
to
know
how
many
people
are
still
in
the
jungle
encampment.
while
the
city’s
homeless
response
manager
guessed
##number##
,
some
residents
say
##number##
"
as
soon
as
they’ve
moved
people
out
of
here
,
hundreds
more
move
in
,
"
said
robert
aguirre
,
a
jungle
resident.
san
jose
is
the
city
in
the
heart
of
silicon
valley
,
near
apple
,
google
and
dozens
of
other
successful
technology
companies.
an
influx
of
workers
has
led
to
soaring
housing
and
rental
prices.
"
it
is
one
of
the
paradoxes
of
our
region’s
economic
success
,
this
housing
shortage
,
"
said
the
city’s
communications
director
,
david
vossbrink.
a
city
memo
from
this
fall
estimates
a
shortage
of
##number##
affordable
housing
units.
but
resources
to
deal
with
that
shortage
have
dwindled
as
well.
in
california
,
redevelopment
funds
from
the
state
had
been
a
reliable
means
of
developing
affordable
housing
,
but
when
california
was
facing
its
severe
budget
deficits
in
the
midst
of
the
recession
,
its
governor
and
legislature
did
away
with
redevelopment
programs.
leslye
corsiglia
,
the
city’s
housing
director
,
said
that
in
##number##
the
city
received
$40.6
million
in
redevelopment
funds
that
could
be
used
for
low-
and
moderate-income
housing.
now
that
money
is
spent.
from
all
sources
,
federal
,
state
and
local
,
the
city’s
funds
for
affordable
housing
have
dropped
by
a
third
since
then
,
to
$61
million.
just
last
month
,
the
city
council
passed
a
housing
impact
fee
requiring
that
developers
of
market
rate
rental
housing
pay
$17
per
square
foot
toward
development
of
low-income
housing.
but
revenues
from
that
new
fee
will
not
kick
in
until
at
least
##number##
mr.
bramson
said
that
finding
stable
subsidized
housing
for
##number##
people
in
this
atmosphere
was
an
accomplishment.
"
coming
out
of
a
recession
,
the
dissolution
of
redevelopment
funds
,
"
cities
have
had
a
tough
time
creating
affordable
housing
in
an
environment
when
rental
prices
are
skyrocketing
,
he
said.