Homeless services study
The city of Saratoga is working with other area cities in a West Valley Homeless Services Implementation Task Force. The task force would involve representatives from Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, along with county representatives, institutional stakeholders and select service providers to develop a formal implementation plan and establish measurable goals, define governance structure and financing strategy and monitor its progress.
At its regular meeting on April 1, the Saratoga City Council received a report from the City of Campbell and Good City Company about the needs of unhoused residents. According to a presentation by associate planner Kyle Rathbone, in 2023 there were at least 221 people experiencing homelessness across the five West Valley municipalities. Last year, the point-in-time count increased to at least 255, a 13% jump; in Santa Clara County, homelessness increased by 8% overall. In Saratoga, the number of unhoused residents increased from zero in 2023 to 19 last year.
The needs analysis saw that unhoused individuals in the West Valley are more likely to be youth or families with children. They also are more likely to sleep in their car or couch surf than to use shelter beds. There is also a higher domestic violence survivor rate and a lower rate of people with mental, physical and substance use issues. However, Hispanic or Latino, Black and indigenous people were overrepresented in the study in comparison to their overall West Valley populations.
The study concluded with some recommendations, such as sustaining and expanding programs that work, engaging with with people who have experienced homelessness, identifying funding and supporting neighborhood safety and cleanliness.
Prescribed burn courses
The South Bay Prescribed Burn Association is offering five courses in firefighter training to Santa Clara County residents.
The association is led by the Saratoga-based Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy. The five courses are available online for free and are prerequisites to obtaining a Firefighter Type II certificate, which is given to entry-level wildland firefighters who are responsible for fire suppression, fuels management and mop-up operations.
The classes are: Firefighter Training, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service, Introduction to the Incident Command System and Introduction to NIMS. For more information and to enroll, visit https://sccfiresafe.org/sbpba.
There are 20 available spots for the Firefighter Type II training and there will be a one-day, in-person field exercise in June on a date to be determined.