Safe parking site for homeless opens at South San Jose light rail station
SAN JOSE – Dozens of people living in RVs have a new safe place to park in South San Jose. A long-awaited sanctioned parking lot at VTA's Santa Teresa light rail station opened after months of delays.
The site, offering 42 spaces for RVs and Buses, is a sanctuary for individuals like Vangie Torres, who has been living in her bus since 2017, after facing financial struggles.
"I'm happy because you can only park at some place for 72 hours, and then you have to move," shared Torres, who works as a caregiver.
Operated by LifeMoves, an organization aiding individuals and families experiencing homelessness, the site provides essentials like handwashing stations and porta potties.
Mayor Matt Mahan of San Jose highlighted this safe parking initiative as part of the city's comprehensive strategy to reduce homelessness, which affects more than 4,500 people living in unmanaged conditions on the streets.
"We need to put more of our dollars into more immediate solutions. We have a crisis on our streets," Mahan said.
The recently approved city council projects include several sites like Santa Teresa and a much larger site in Berryessa in East San Jose.
Torres, having lived in different places facing challenges, celebrates the new opportunity.
"We were always thinking about having safe parking we could go to…we couldn't wait for it to open," she said.