KTVU: City leaders look to motels to help homeless

By Ann Rubin

A persistent shortage of permanent housing in the South Bay has some city leaders looking at a new approach to this old problem.

There’s an effort underway to tap an underutilized resource: hotels and motels.

For the homeless, like Michael Wright, finding a place to stay is nearly impossible.

He says there aren’t enough shelter beds or apartments willing to take people in.

“Right now I’m afraid, afraid to go. I don’t know what to do,” says Wright.

Now the city of San Jose is trying to address the problem. On Tuesday night they voted unanimously to approve a pilot program which would help the homeless find temporary shelter in hotels and motels.

“This is a very cost effective way for us to get homeless housed in a transitional way at far less cost than it takes to construct new housing,” says Council Member Sam Liccardo.

City officials have yet to identify willing hotels or a non-profit to manage the program.

But the idea is to help underutilized facilities rent rooms, while helping the homeless transition to permanent housing.

And while some who run motels, see the potential. Many still have questions about their future tenants.

“How are they going to keep the place? Should something go wrong, who’s going to be taking care of that action?” wonders Nick Patel GM of the Town House Motel.

And homeless advocates have concerns too, that this is a Band-Aid and not a real solution.

“I think it’s a gesture to say oh look we’re doing something. But a place like this has to have a plan,” says Pastor Scott Wagers of the CHAM Deliverance Ministry.

Still, Michael Wright wishes something like this existed already.

“That would be great because it would take some of the pressure off me,” he says.

The hope is to get details of the program back before the council in 60 days and maybe have the pilot program up and running by early summer.

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