San Jose Officials Reluctantly Agree To Fund Major Housing Operator

San Jose Spotlight

October 26, 2023

A San Jose housing operator is receiving millions in funding to address homelessness, despite growing concerns by city officials about the nonprofit’s performance and racial profiling allegations.

The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to allocate $6.2 million to HomeFirst to continue operating four interim housing sites through next June. Several councilmembers shared frustrations over the nonprofit’s latest woes, but ultimately admitted they lacked alternative solutions that would allow them to end that relationship without major consequences.

The momentum stems from a memo submitted by Councilmember Omar Torres ahead of council that asks the city to “closely” monitor HomeFirst’s performance in all city contracts moving forward, including its treatment of staff members.

Torres said his original recommendation was to cut off HomeFirst entirely from city funding, but the housing department advised him against it. HomeFirst also operates the 90-room Arena Hotel, which opened last month, and the SureStay Motel as of this month, which offers temporary housing and services to homeless seniors.

“We cannot upend our unsheltered communities that are there in transition already,” Torres said during Tuesday’s meeting. “There’s too many lives at stake … I’m extremely upset about how HomeFirst has treated their Black employees … I hope in January we get a service provider that’s willing to step up.”

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