SAN JOSE, Calif. — The City of San Jose, like other major California cities, has struggled with homelessness for decades. But in the largest city in the Bay Area, one encampment and the city’s response showcase successes and hardship in a complex system.
What You Need To Know
The homeless encampment mentioned is just south of downtown, nestled across from a family zoo, and called “The Jungle”
It’s a name possibly familiar to people in Silicon Valley who remember its existence in the mid 2010s
The city is sweeping it again, but Mayor Matt Mahan said this time is different
Mahan has long stated his plans of prioritizing more quick-build temporary shelters such as converted motels, tiny homes and tent sites
The homeless encampment mentioned is just south of downtown, nestled across from a family zoo, and called “The Jungle.”
It’s a name possibly familiar to people in Silicon Valley who remember its existence in the mid 2010s. The city swept it then, only for it to reappear in recent years. The city is sweeping it again, but Mayor Matt Mahan said this time is different.
“By giving people dignity, we can restore the natural habitat and make it cleaner and safer for everyone,” Mahan said. “I’m proud of the progress made in San Jose. It’s a model for the rest of the state.”
Mahan has long stated his plans of prioritizing more quick-build temporary shelters such as converted motels, tiny homes and tent sites. In doing this, he took money away from long-term affordable and transitional housing. Over the years, his administration said it’s opened more than one-thousand shelter beds.
“In San Jose, we’re steadily reducing unsheltered homelessness by creating alternatives and holding them accountable,” Mahan said.
As more shelter spaces open up, the city is sweeping more encampments. In 2025, the city swept an encampment south of the San Jose Mineta International Airport, which was home to hundreds of people. Now, doing the same at “The Jungle.”
Mahan, who is running for California governor, said he wants to implement this strategy statewide to reduce unsheltered homelessness. Those experiencing encampment sweeps, though, said not everything goes smooth.
“I don’t believe anything these people say,” Martin Nava, a homeless resident of “The Jungle” said.
Nava told Spectrum News that he has been homeless off and on for years. He said city workers tried to connect him to a shelter before sweeping his tent from the jungle, but said no one followed up with him.
“People’s lives are at stake and look now. I haven’t heard from them, not even a phone call,” Nava said.
Maria Vargas, another “Jungle” resident, said the same issue happened to her.
“I’m upset about it, and I was hoping for a little tiny home,” Vargas said. “What does that say to the people who were left behind? They’re not giving me housing.”
When Vargas and Nava were first interviewed in April, the two were searching for a new encampment to call home.
San Jose’s housing department sent Spectrum News a statement stating it couldn’t confirm individual cases of homeless people experiencing issues.
It did state it met one-on-one with people leftover at the encampment who did complain.
Nava and Vargas have since been sheltered, according to homeless advocates who are in contact with them, but still visit “The Jungle” every day.
Vargas told Spectrum News that several dozen individuals still live in the encampment as the city continues its sweep.