City of Cupertino coordinating relocation, temporary housing for Wolfe Rd. homeless encampment

Photo courtesy of City of Cupertino Facebook page.Photo courtesy of City of Cupertino Facebook page.

City Manager Deb Feng provided an update during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Cupertino City Council on City efforts to support unhoused individuals at the homeless encampment on Wolfe Road near the I-280 off-ramp.  The encampment has been set to be disbanded since September due to rising safety concerns following a hit-and-run death in August. The City has allocated $200,000 to support housing and relocation services for encampment members.  

Feng reported that seven encampment members have taken the housing option at Casa de Novo, a supportive housing site in San Jose developed by Abode Services, since the outreach and engagement began last month. An additional nine new people not in county records as being unhoused are currently being assessed for other county programs to see if they qualify. More could take housing this week, and for dates mapping out, Feng said. 

Those who choose to remain outside can go to a temporarily sanctioned outdoor location established by the city for that purpose, on a parking strip at the corner of Vallco Parkway and Tantau. City-provided facilities there include restrooms, sanitation stations and trash pickup. New tents, sleeping bags, and food and gasoline cards are being provided, and individual storage lockers will be provided at a nearby storage facility. The city, county and Abode will facilitate the move to the other outdoor location, according to Feng. More details will be forthcoming later this week, as well as a financial update; the deal between the City and Abode is still being worked on, Feng said.