On almost a nightly basis, a stand-off takes place in Fair Oaks Park.
On one side, homeless men, women and children with nowhere else to go for the night, who hope to get some rest before the next day. On the other side are Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety officers, who must uphold the city’s ordinances, including not allowing camping overnight in parks.
The homeless have used Fair Oaks Park in the past, particularly during the winter months when the county operated the neighboring armory site as a cold-weather shelter. But since the armory closed in March, the city has seen an increase in the number of homeless in the park and a corresponding increase in complaints, according to Sunnyvale communications officer Jennifer Garnett.
“While we understand the difficulty of the situation, we are also obligated to enforce the city’s ordinances,” Garnett said.
Citations, and in some cases arrests, end up clearing out the park, but only temporarily.
Vice Mayor Jim Davis still hopes to find a more permanent solution.
Davis, who spearheaded a volunteer group to find a replacement cold-weather shelter using private funding, identified one location at 1150 W. Evelyn Ave. But the county board of supervisors agreed to take over the search in April.
“What are we doing for the people at Fair Oaks Park besides showing up at 2 a.m., rousting them, trying to get them to move along?” Davis inquired. “At the end of the day, I hope we are using our resources to direct these people to get the services they need.”
Davis said he personally goes out to the park to hand out brochures with information about local resources, including organizations such as Sunnyvale Community Services and the Downtown Streets Team.
While the county has not found a replacement location, it has dedicated $1.1 million for north county homeless services.
The approved plan includes a motel voucher program for families and single adults, expanded shelter services at Project WeHOPE in East Palo Alto, expanded services at Hotel de Zink in Palo Alto, inclement weather outreach to the county’s homeless population and expanded services at Commercial Street Inn and the Boccardo Reception Center in San Jose.
With temperatures beginning to drop, Davis said he is considering retooling his task force and getting private money for a permanent shelter as they had originally planned and turn it over to the county to use.
“This issue touches me personally, and I’m not done here,” Davis said.
Garnett said the city will continue to address homelessness by supporting affordable-housing solutions, funding local organizations that provide social services, and working with the county to identify a suitable temporary location for a cold-weather shelter.
Two separate affordable-housing projects proposed by MidPen Housing and Charities Housing are being built on the former armory site after more than two years of planning.
The decision to explore the armory site for the affordable-housing project came after the initial location at the Onizuka Air Force Station was deemed inconvenient and isolated for residents back in February 2011. In March of that year, it was suggested that the project applicants look at the more centralized location of the armory.
Both homeless housing providers, MidPen and Charities, decided to build a combination of family units and studio apartments. All of the units will be for extremely to very low-income households, with annual incomes ranging from $10,650 to $62,850.
The housing providers also plan to deliver on-site programs and services such as adult education classes, financial literacy, income tax preparation and after-school programs.
