By Ben Irwin. San Jose Spotlight.
The recently renovated Arena Hotel in San José reopened its doors to help some of the city's most vulnerable residents and already has the "No Room" sign on.
The 90-room hotel in The Alameda, about two miles from Santa Clara University, is one of five Project Homekey sites designed to provide temporary housing for homeless people.
The repurposed property is a shelter with low barriers, which does not require sobriety. Most rooms are for single adults. There are 10 double occupancy rooms and pets are welcome. The long-term plan calls for tearing down the building to build up to 200 permanent, affordable apartments.
The $46 million interim housing project, which opened today, is funded through Measure E and California's Project Homekey. The city received $125.5 million from the state.
HomeFirst will provide mental health and support services including case managers, physicians, supervision and resident assistants. Bea Ramos, vice president of HomeFirst's emergency housing division, said solving homelessness requires more than just a bed.
“We have found a really good formula with our temporary housing services,” Ramos told San José Spotlight.
Keisha Pagan, a resident of the Arena Hotel, praised the humanity and availability of the HomeFirst staff and said her caseworker has given her the leniency and trust to improve her life.
“I would never have been able to take the necessary steps to participate in the program,” Pagán said. “It works if you are willing to take the necessary steps.”
San Jose policymakers have touted efforts to convert motels into homeless housing and rapid-build housing models as solutions to homelessness. But progress remains slow: only SureStay Motel and Arena Hotel are online.
The county's point-in-time count found that homelessness has decreased by 4.7 percent over the past year in San Jose, bringing the number to about 6,340 homeless residents, a reduction of about 300 people. City officials attribute the downward trend to the opening of more affordable housing and temporary shelters.
The hotel conversion has been in the works since around 2021. Other funded projects include the 61-bed Pavillion Inn and the 72-bed Pacific Motor Inn, which have not yet opened.
“We know what the solution is. Is here. It’s working,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. “It is increasing our supply of safe, decent and dignified housing for every person living outdoors today. And when shelter and housing are available, we must require people to come indoors.”
The Martin v. Boise, which began in 2009 and was resolved in 2019, found that governments cannot criminalize homeless people when they do not have enough housing space available or without first providing housing or shelter to homeless people.
Rosalynn Hughey, San Jose's interim housing director, said the referrals that filled the rooms at the Arena Hotel came from city-funded outreach teams. San José shelters are typically at capacity with long waiting lists, and the San José City Council recently questioned whether continuing to funnel $14T6 million a year into outreach activities is a smart investment with no shelters available.
“This greatly simplifies and speeds up the referral process to this project and others,” Hughey said. “We want places for our neighbors… and help them get on the path to upward mobility.”
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