A month after sweeps have been occuring at an encampment near Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, about 200 remaining unhoused residents are panicking and anxious after receiving 72-hour notices on Oct. 13.
Orange signs affixed on the residents’ vehicles at the encampment, mainly known as the Field of Dreams, were put there by San Jose Police Department officers on Oct. 13 to abide by federal orders.
A Field of Dreams resident known as “Boochie” said the encampment used to be located on Spring and Ashbury streets but it was moved by the city two years ago to Ashbury and Irene streets.
“[The city] told us we could stay here for two years until they figure something out [for us] but you know what? What it was was a bunch of bullshit, it was to move us away from there peacefully,” Boochie said. “They don’t just want to clear you out, they want to get rid of everything you own.”
Boochie said city officials have come and taken belongings from certain residents, including RVs and demolished their items in front of them.
“They don’t just destroy it, they take it apart piece by piece and then lay out the pieces in front of you to see,” Boochie said.
City workers have been dismantling the unhoused encampment to meet federal demands from the Federal Aviation Administration to clear the encampment from the flight path of the airport since the first week of September.
The Federal Aviation Administration threatened to withhold millions of dollars from federal funding if the camp wasn’t cleared by the deadline set by the agency, according to a City of San Jose report regarding the encampment.
The sweeps have happened sporadically, with the deadline being extended by city councilmembers multiple times and the Federal Aviation Administration giving extensions until the city is able to clear the encampment from the park, according to a Sept. 1 San Jose Spotlight article.
The population of the encampment includes about 100-200 houseless residents, according to the San Jose report, which was last updated on Aug. 10.
However, longtime resident Katherine Davis, said the city grossly misrepresented those numbers.
“When I counted [in September], there were about 600 people living here, not 100,” Davis said.
Before the sweep, there were about 500 unhoused residents and the encampment was completely filled with cars, trucks, RVS and tents, according to a Sept 21. KQED article.
On Oct. 13, the number of residents and vehicles was nearly half of that.
Shaunn Cartwright, co-founder and member of Unhoused Response Group, a volunteer team serving unhoused residents food, water and other necessities, said the residents and her team fought to have the residents be able to count the population of the encampment, rather than an agency.
“[The city was] initially going to have one of the vendors count this area and we fought [it],” Cartwright said. “A couple of other people were like, ‘Why wouldn't the people who live here do the counting?’ ”
With the dismantling of the camp, San Jose also promised some of the unhoused residents that it would find them housing, according to the KQED article.
Roberto Agundec, a resident of the encampment who has lived there for a year, said the city bought his RV from the space for $500 and is expected to place him in an apartment on Ninth and St. John streets.
Agundec said he and his wife had been houseless on the streets for ten years and he moved to the Field of Dreams after his wife died from cancer in 2021.
He said he is looking forward to a place of his own, though he can only stay there for a year.
Agundec said after that, he will likely be back on the streets.
“The city aren’t going to get involved in these issues,” he said.
Other unhoused residents feel that the city continues to give them empty promises.
Kimberly Williams, who became a resident of the encampment after losing her grandparents, said there’s a lot the city could do, but choose not to, for the residents.
“I think they can make things a lot easier for people. They make things kind of difficult. I have a dog and that makes everything a lot harder to find places because a lot of people don't want pets,” Williams said. “Without my dog, that's my mental health right there. She drives me crazy, but I can't imagine not having her. She's been through a lot with me, she's my companion.”
Katherine Davis was able to find permanent housing after living in a tiny homes community in San Jose.
Tiny homes are interim housing, with the city operating five different communities, with the goal of finding permanent housing for people that reside in the homes.
“I was homeless for 18 years and last November I was blessed with a tiny home, but it’s very hard for people to get housing right off the bat, it’s horrible,” Davis said. “The tiny homes that were the first ones built don't have their own bathrooms, so it’s a walk from the tiny home to there, it’s a community shower, they have community kitchens . . . it’s hard man, it's only three months.”
Tiny homes don’t work for most people who go through the communities, with residents in Santa Clara County failing to find permanent homes more than half the time, according to a Sept. 27 Mercury News article.
However, the interim housing communities work better than traditional houseless shelters, according to the Mercury News article.
Many Field of Dream residents said the tiny homes come with strict qualifications.
“You can’t bring friends over, it’s worse than being in prison. You can have friends, you can't really have anything. You know, you have to go check in every two-three days,” Boochie said. “What do you think happens to people over there? . . . I would rather be out here than deal with that stupid shit.”
Davis also agreed that the qualifications for unhoused residents to be able to live in tiny homes are too strict, with city officials not understanding their experiences.
However, she also said that through the program, she was able to gain permanent housing in October.
“It’s been a long struggle, I did a lot of volunteer work and I’m getting my apartment tomorrow. [Oct. 14],” Davis said.
