Thursday, March 14, 2024

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY DAEC IS THE SOLUTION



Candidate for Dignity Acres Emergency Campground
 03/13/24   corner of capitol & hostetter          -perhaps its all repeat; but in a new order:

*****

Robert Mickanen & Sandra Harrison Kay

NOTonNOBLE.blogspot.com

 

WHO WE REPRESENT:   The HTLC Community

Hard-working.  Tax-paying.  Law-abiding.  Contributors.

WHAT WE SEEK:               Dignity Acres Emergency Campground.  The Solution.

 

SOLUTION:  Dignity Acres Emergency Campground provides a specific location (an option!)  that our first responders can use to legally and IMMEDIATELY bring illegal campers, loiters, transients, panhandlers.

                PROBLEM THIS SOLVES:  The short-sighted, negligent and counter-productive decision made by the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals which limits the ability of California public agencies to relocate unsheltered individuals who are camping on public lands   “.. cannot enforce ordinances that ban public camping or criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors..”

 

SOLUTION:  Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is in the OUTSKIRTS of San Jose/Santa Clara County.

PROBLEM THIS SOLVES:  ALL 10 DISTRICTS that make up San Jose say NO TO EIH in their neighborhoods.  No one wants, or should be forced to have EIH.  EIH is failing in city after city; no one wants to spend one more tax dollar investing in a failing program.  Dignity Acres Emergency Campgrounds is the alternative people are looking for; it provides a place with services which helps restore dignity to ‘unsheltered individuals’ without encroaching on or threatening the safety and cleanliness of established neighborhoods, school campuses, shopping plazas, parks, etc.

               

SOLUTION:  Dignity Acres Emergency Campground provides all the basic human dignities:  Portable toilets, garbage pick-up, water/food/clothing donations; professional social services outreach

PROBLEMS THIS SOLVES:  Unsheltered Individuals defecating/urinating on public property; toxic garbage accumulating in dangerous proportions; compassionate donations inadvertently making matters worse; begging/panhandling; untreated/undiagnosed growing demographic of unsheltered individuals

 

                Portable Toilets:  Currently, our demographic of ‘unsheltered individuals’ are defecating and urinating directly on sidewalks; in front of and near school campuses, local businesses and restaurants; they are defecating and urinating indiscriminately, in full public view, without human dignities like portable toilets, toilet paper, and without means (or motivation, apparently) for cleaning up afterward; themselves or the area they defecated on.  This is uncivilized, it is a health hazard, and it is disturbing that anyone should experience or be made to witness this behavior in San Jose City, Santa Clara County, California in 2024.  Dignity Acres has portable toilets/clean-up/maintenance. 

Garbage Pick-Up:  The majority of us living in San Jose/Santa Clara County pay for and receive the benefits of garbage pick-up.  It is convenient and a regular practice for us to place our garbage/recycle cans on the streets in front of our homes/businesses on a weekly basis.  Our ‘unsheltered individuals’ do not pay for, and do not have garbage cans.  They are not on truck-driver routes and their garbage accumulates in gross and toxic and very hazardous ways.  Dignity Acres has garbage and recycle cans and is on the weekly garbage pick-up route.  One place for the truck drivers to go (vs. several different locations throughout the 10th largest city in the nation) This keeps things more streamlined, less expensive, less time-consuming, less human-resource taxing, etc.

Money/Food Donations:  Currently, our ‘unsheltered individuals’ do a great deal of begging, stealing and panhandling.  What we learned after direct conversations with 24+ small business owners is this:  People with compassionate hearts who give food or money to beggars/panhandlers sitting outside stores; while their intentions may be good, the result is that this attracts several more beggars while simultaneously deterring large numbers of paying customers.  This contributes to our  ‘unsheltered individuals’ colonizing and closing our shopping plazas, store by store and it must be stopped!   Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is where compassionate people can donate and genuinely help people without inadvertently destroying local businesses.   

Panhandlers/Beggars:   Currently we have ‘unsheltered individuals’ hanging out in dangerous locations; i.e., freeway off ramps, high traffic medians,  -and again, while the intention may be good, giving to said individuals increases their numbers and the population of beggars/panhandlers only grows.  In some cases, they become very aggressive and intimidating, which can make it unsafe and very undesirable for people who are forced to wait in traffic lines and worry about dealing with…   beggars/panhandlers often have signs which indicate they are hungry.  Dignity Acres has food/water; food trucks; food donations;  No one is going to go hungry or thirsty.  If & when you see a panhandler, you can immediately call, and have someone from Dignity Acres come pick up said individuals and bring them to wear food/water are..  Now are streets, medians, freeway on and exit ramps are free from  ‘unsheltered individuals’  and ‘unsheltered individuals’ have a place to go for food and water, shelter, etc.

 

Social Services Outreach Professionals/Experts:  ‘Unsheltered Individuals’ are unsheltered for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons do not give them the right to colonize/close businesses; to destroy students schools, to threaten their walks to and from school; their reasons do not give them the right to steal, to intimidate, to threaten, to litter, to degrade, to destroy; to vandalize; their reasons do not give them the right to ruin the quality of life for others.  Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is where trained/educated, Social Service Professionals/Experts are available to interview and assess each ‘unsheltered individual’s’ unique circumstances and prioritize and place accordingly.

 

CAVEATS:

While ‘sleeping outdoors’ cannot be criminalized; many individuals who are sleeping outdoors are also stealing; vandalizing; loitering; disturbing the peace; assaultive…

 There should be a population cap of ‘unsheltered individuals’ who reside at Dignity Acres Emergency Campground at any given one time based on acres/space.

San Jose/Santa Clara County should not carry the responsibility for the entire, wide-spread population of ‘unsheltered individuals’ across the land ; but can provide a successful example/template for other cities,  counties, states to follow

Repeat:  The goal for this demographic of ‘unsheltered individuals’ at all times is to DIGNIFY & DETER, not ENABLE & ATTRACT

Location:  DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND must be in the OUTSKIRTS, or it does not problem solve at all;  being in the outskirts immediately addresses all the very valid concerns of all districts (1-10) in San Jose who do not want EIH in their neighborhoods.  One Central location in the outskirts also makes it very streamlined, cost-effective, logistically optimal for city services and donations.

We believe the HTLC Community of San Jose and Santa Clara County would love the opportunity to see Dignity Acres Emergency Campground created and supported.  We believe it will provide a great deal of immediate relief to students, teachers, parents, families, business owners, managers, employees, customers/shoppers, librarians, park and recreation staff.. on and on; immediate relief being able to call and report ‘unsheltered individuals’ and know that a first responder can and will come and relocate said individual(s).

We know, said individuals who are relocated to DAEC will have the basic human dignities and be professionally assessed, have shelter, food/water/clothing and have opportunities and incentives for improving their lives.   We know DAEC gives people with compassionate hearts a place to donate that will be benefit struggling individuals directly without jeopardizing local businesses.

DAEC helps restore San Jose to its former glory, helps the HTLC community maintain a healthy, civilized, safe,  clean, productive and creative way of life, which is often very hard earned and greatly appreciated.  We want to make sure our efforts help and lift the struggling  vs. allowing the strugglers to ruin and pull down the healthy.   

We believe DAEC  -the idea of it-  is well worth sharing and supporting; that people will feel hopeful and grateful and be very willing to give it a solid chance to prove its value as the solution we claim it is.

And that the energy and hope from the larger population will itself result in the answer as to ‘where’ exactly it should be.   That crowd-sourcing will yield great results.

We understand cost are involved, but when we compare and consider what it takes to find the space; build EIH; maintain EIH, battle, district by district, neighborhood by neighborhood against EIH; the cost of the failures..  -but see the money that seems so available to invest in this unwanted and failing system    -We have just as much confidence in the ultimate funding, as we do in crowd-sourcing for the specific location in the outskirts.

 

Candidate for Dignity Acres Emergency Campground.   This picture taken 3/13/2024 on the corner of Capitol and Hostetter, where a larger encampment was recently removed (  -to where..?  by who?  )    to the right of Popeyes.  Not seen in the picture is a great deal of graffiti/vandalism within the shopping plaza itself.. and a new encampment, fenced in, where the now colonized/closed Carl’s Jr used to be

It is our hope and belief, that our 9th circuit federal court of appeals judges would re-visit (and rescind) their decision upon seeing the results and consequences of not being able to enforce city ordinances.

-the inability to immediately address what you see here; negligent!    And as it grows exponentially across the city and county; unaddressed..       -third world      This is an emergency!  Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is the solution.   DETAILS regarding the 4 different communities, steps and incentives within DAEC attached/included.

                  



Thursday, February 8, 2024

NOTonNOBLE results: encampments removal report

 For over the past YEAR, two major encampments have existed and grown exponentially (McKee & Capitol and Hostetter & Capitol) without any action proactively taken by our city officials to remove them. 


Over the past couple MONTHS, our NOTonNOBLE community has been DEMANDING its city officials remove these encampments.

"Thank You!" awesome neighbors.. several answered prayers; as of TODAY:

 -singular illegal camper on berryessa/capitol;  -gone.
-encampment at hostetter/capitol; -gone.
-encampment at mckee/capitol; -gone.

This demonstrates that when we, the people, together, raise our voices, complain and demand, collectively, for the removal of illegal campers/loiterers/vandals..   united we get results!

IF YOU DON'T COMPLAIN - THE TENTS REMAIN
IF YOU DON'T COMPLAIN -RV's REMAIN

much love & gratitude, robert & sandra 



Friday, February 2, 2024

VOTE NO on Proposition 1 March Ballot

 DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND IS THE SOLUTION

we strongly believe voting yes on proposition 1 would be a repeat of measure A in 2016:
lots of spending while the homeless population grows.   -yes on prop 1 would result in more tiny homes...   and no hospitals.. while illegal campers continue to colonize and close our shopping plazas and threaten our students and schools

we need DIGNITY ACRES and HOSPITALS  -not 'more housing'
NOT housing with personalized support services




  


in 2016 Measure A  $950 million, with 7 year implementation

"...for the needs of the communities poorest and most vulnerable residents.
...including veterans, seniors, the disabled, low and moderate income individuals, 
foster youth, victims of abuse, the homeless and individuals suffering from mental health or substance abuse illnesses."

  It is 7 years later   -results? 





 

Saturday, January 27, 2024

24 CRUCIAL TESTIMONIES Open Letter to San Jose Mayor, Council & Santa Clara County Supervisors

Dear Mayor Matt Mahan, City Manager, Jennifer Maguire, 
San Jose City Council Members,  
Santa Clara County Supervisors

Yesterday, Jan 22nd, 2024, Robert and I personally visited 24 small businesses (still open) on two corners of Berryessa & Capitol, distributing and sharing our DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND SOLUTION to the homeless crisis.   

Every single business owner, manager, employee had A HORROR STORY to share.  WE HAVE GOT TO STOP THIS IN ITS TRACKS BEFORE ANOTHER Shopping Mall is colonized and closed.  Every owner, manager, staff is in FEAR of LOSING THEIR BUSINESS/JOBS.

*  Customer Numbers have been cut in half since last year
* Every business is having to clean up human feces and urine and garbage from in front, and sometimes, inside their stores; along walkways, behind buildings.
* Dumpster Fires 
* Theft
* Break-Ins
*Harassments 
* Aggresive Pan Handling
* Assault/Spitting on customers & staff
* Blocking entrances
* Tip money stolen, product stolen

and it is being IGNORED

A long painful list.  The prevalence is heart-breaking.
WE HAVE GOT TO RELOCATE THE CRIMINAL LOITERERS, ILLEGAL CAMPERS  -they are DESTROYING our otherwise civilized, healthy, valued local shopping plazas.

WE RE-URGE YOU TO READ AND IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENT DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND SOLUTION  

**  Regarding the singular illegal camper in front of the dentist office:  We learned staff called and reported the issue.  First responders did come and take the man to the hospital.  When released he went write back to the sidewalk in front of the dentist office.  They reported again, were told the area would be cleaned up within 3 days, AND HE HAS BEEN THERE 3 WEEKS.. they are still waiting.      UNACCETABLE  -utterly uncivilized behavior and our local business owners should not have to pay the price; their customers should not have to deal with this; should not have to travel to other communities and cities for a civilized and safe shopping experience

We are not a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY  -Come on!  Step Up!  Fix This!
We need some strong leadership

and we are at a loss when it comes to reaching the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges   -but we read about a decision they will making in APRIL 2024   -about whether sleeping on public property will be legalized

HOW they decide will determine whether we regain our healthy civilized San Jose and restore it to its former glory, or we do in fact, become a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY

Thank You,   Robert Mickanen & Sandra Harrison Kay
Dist 4, San Jose, Berryessa Neighborhood

NOTonNOBLE.blogspot.com


** On Jan 25th, 2024, when driving by the area, we noticed the singular illegal camper tent in front of the dentist office/McDonalds was gone.    -We do not know the details;  who, what, exactly when or where to, but do regard this as a step in the correct direction. 

Further, it was brought to our attention, that well-intentioned and/or intimidated customers were giving food or money to illegal panhandlers.  Business owners would be very grateful if YOU DO NOT GIVE MONEY or FOOD to PANHANDLERS.   -this causes them to stay, attracts even more, and for every one you give food or money too..    10 or more customers stop shopping there.

We are inspired by the solution Newport is ENFORCING



 

 

Monday, January 22, 2024

DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND Solution to save San Jose, California


 

DIGNITY ACRES EMERGENCY CAMPGROUND  

 -Details & Incentives Plan,

by Robert Mickanen, Retired Deputy, Santa Clara County, 27 years experience & insights

and Sandra Harrison Kay, literary & mixed media artist

The Solution for Homeless Criminals, Mentally Ill, and Drug Addicts

Keeping communities safe and providing incentives for the homeless to integrate back into society.

And yes, being homeless is not a crime, but being homeless should not make it okay to commit a crime. Criminals that are homeless are still criminals. Criminals are not innocent just because they are homeless. It’s become dangerous to our society that because someone is homeless, they are given the green light to commit crimes. They are not being held accountable for their actions. Some politicians, homeless advocates, special interest groups (businesses that profit from this crisis), and the media do not want to admit that a homeless person can commit a crime. The narrative pushed by some of these groups is that people are only homeless because of financial difficulties. Not true. Almost all, are either released criminals, drug addicts, mentally ill, evicted due to their own actions, and those who choose to live that way. Neighbors are harassed, threatened, and spit on by criminal homeless. Throughout the city we see homeless criminals illegally threatening citizens, illegally vandalizing, illegally camping, illegally parking, illegally loitering and illegally littering.  If any law-abiding citizen committed any of these crimes, they would be either fined or arrested and forced to move from the location.

WHO IS LEAVING SAN JOSE & WHY:  It’s the HTLC community (HARD WORKING, TAX PAYING, LAW ABIDING, CONTRIBUTORS). They do not feel safe. Many neighbors, friends and family have already moved out of San Jose, and many are contemplating a move if crime continues to rise and the homeless criminals are allowed to wander through their neighborhoods. When does the value of life and rights of the HTLC community matter?  The behavior of these homeless criminals has destroyed once thriving neighborhoods and shopping plazas. The city should not allow the destruction of thriving communities, just to accommodate homeless criminals. The homeless criminals do what they please. This is so backwards. The goal should be to encourage everyone to be part of the HTLC community and have everyone thrive and feel safe.

Robert:  I’ve been living in the Berryessa neighborhood for about 45 years. I only knew of one homeless person living in this area from the 1980’s to the 1990’s. And then I only knew of one homeless person in this area from the 1990’s to 2010’s.  I did not witness or hear about any crimes in the neighborhood until the past 2 years. In the past couple of years, cars have had windows smashed, a car lit on fire, a stabbing in our park, and a home invasion.

San Jose City’s current response is to place these criminal homeless in densely populated caged tiny homes in your neighborhood.   We (Robert & Sandra) visited all current tiny home sites in San Jose; what we saw and heard and learned from surrounding neighbors is very disturbing, and why we are fighting this failing agenda as best we can.  We need your help!

One Tiny home supervisor explained the barbwire around the site, “Is to protect the homeless from the neighborhood”. Wrong, the neighborhood needs protection from them. The tiny homes supervisor told us we do not get to know who is living there. What are they hiding from all of us? If the people living there are law abiding citizens and not criminals, they should be able to say so. The public wants to know if they are in danger. We witnessed at one of the tiny home sites, homeless people walking back and forth from their tiny home facility to a disgusting homeless encampment directly across the street.  The SJPD Officers parking lot is next to a tiny home site. Some Officer’s personal cars have been vandalized. One Officer’s car was broken into and one of the criminal

Page 1

homeless pooped on the car seat.  A neighbor shared how in Sacramento a portion of her apartment building was transitioned into a shelter for the homeless. The apartment is now in ruin as a direct result. Homeless are sleeping and leaving garbage in the hallways. It now smells of urine and feces throughout the building. Again, a thriving apartment building previously for the HTLC community, destroyed. We’ve attended many city council meetings over the homeless issue. Almost every citizen from every district attending these meetings is against tiny homes in their neighborhoods. No one is in favor. Everyone fears having criminals in their neighborhood. Everyone wants these homeless communities built on the outskirts of town so they can feel safe. The only people we heard speak in favor of building tiny homes in our neighborhoods were the paid employees who worked for the programs that profit from building the homes. Only special interest groups who stand to profit support the neighborhood tiny homes agenda.  The citizens of San Jose want homeless facilities built on the outskirts of town and not in their neighborhoods.  The elected officials should be representing the HTLC Community.

I am a part of the HTLC Community:  I worked as a Deputy for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019, and was assigned to the jails.   Many of the inmates were very violent and assaultive and housed in the maximum-security unit.  Deputies were very worried for the public when violent homeless criminals got released. Many of these inmates are mentally ill. They do not know how to take care of themselves. They do not comprehend the basic standards of living. They urinate on themselves. They refuse to clean their cells. Some store their feces in lunch boxes inside their cells. They become very agitated and violent when these issues are addressed. This is who is illegally threatening,  illegally camping, illegally loitering, illegally trespassing and illegally littering our neighborhoods and shopping plazas, children’s sports facilities, parks, etc.

 I have many, many experiences dealing with violent homeless inmates.  One of the many experiences I had as a deputy, dealing with a homeless mentally ill criminal; I encouraged and convinced this very unclean recently re-arrested inmate wearing torn soiled rags for clothing to take a shower and put on good clean clothes.  This took a great deal of energy and negotiation. Later that day, the inmate was released from jail. The inmate became argumentative with the release Officer and demanded the soiled rags be given back to him. I was ordered by my supervisor to retrieve his soiled rags from the garbage and give them back to the inmate. It’s “His property”.  The inmate took off the good clean clothes and put on the old disgusting rags of clothing. You can’t help someone who refuses to be helped. And when you try, they become agitated and potentially violent.

Today, there are 1700 beds available for criminals at the county jails. They are not overcrowded. The jails were full when I was working as a Deputy 4 ½ years ago. Also, since then, the old jail was torn down where an additional 500 beds were available. That equals to about 2200 extra criminals now on our city streets; many who are homeless.   

Criminal homeless are causing businesses to close. Blocking entrances to businesses, harassing customers, loitering inside the businesses, and leaving trash everywhere. All these issues turn customers away due to fear. When this continues, there are no customers, and the business closes. It goes from one business to the next, each one closing after the next, destroying entire shopping plazas.

We no longer go to Wendys on McKee because of criminal activity.

No longer visit Popeyes on Capitol and Hostetter, for the same reason. Several businesses next to Popeyes have closed. They are boarded up, covered in graffiti and trash is accumulating exponentially and homeless criminals are gathering.   Another previously thriving shopping plaza colonized.

Some areas in San Jose look like the city dump. It is hard to tell the difference. We are witnessing the continuous growth of another encampment colonization at Capitol and McKee between  Wienerschnitzel and a mobile home

Page 2

community, across the street from Target.   Along with the homeless encampment, the site is piled high with trash everywhere. It’s sickening. This is disgusting, it’s dangerous. You cannot distinguish the area from a city dump.

Another area of great concern:  encampments along our freeways. Cars constantly must swerve to avoid trash that has fallen onto the freeways and swerve to avoid homeless who are walking on the freeway. Trash gets kicked up by the car tires and sends potential hard items into someone’s windshield causing an accident and possible death. Everywhere needs to be cleaned up.

We went on vacation to Portland. The Portland freeways are littered with homeless encampments, trash and gang graffiti. We witnessed the destruction of a once thriving area. The hotel we booked and were going to stay in was in bad shape with broken signs. Restaurants were boarded up and closed. The surrounding businesses were closed. Graffiti was covering all the buildings and signs. Trash all over the parking lot with homeless drug addicts roaming the parking lot. There was a large homeless encampment across the street. We cancelled our reservation and as we left the city, we had to avoid the many homeless people that were blocking the entrance back onto the freeway. We will never go back to Portland again. That’s where San Jose is headed if the city doesn’t relocate all these criminal homeless from our neighborhoods and businesses. An excellent documentary on what happens to a city when it doesn’t fix this problem is called “Seattle is Dying”. Don’t let it happen to San Jose. Return San Jose to its former glory. Closed businesses equals lost jobs which could force some HTLC citizens into a financial hardship making it hard to afford a place to live. The city needs to protect its citizens and businesses.

The term homeless is too one-sided and misleading. The homeless we see on the street are not in their situation because they find themselves in financial difficulty. Someone who is from the HTLC community who loses their job does not end up homeless the next day. Almost all homeless individuals are in their situation because of their actions and own doing. We all know someone who has needed help with a place to stay because of financial circumstances. The people who are from the HTLC Community have somewhere to go. They are the people who are not criminals and will get help from friends and family. We all know how families and especially parents will give their children and their parents a place to stay. Parents will give their children many opportunities to live with them even when they mess up. The people who end up homeless are the ones who destroyed those relationships by their own actions. The actions that forced friends, family, and apartment managers to have those dysfunctional people removed from their residence are as follows; physical violent assaults, intimidation, fear, threats, stealing, destroying the property, drug addiction, verbal assault, conducting criminal activity, not respecting others, not obeying the home rules, filth, and refusing to be productive and get a job. Just draining their friends and family financially and mentally. After many chances, there comes a point when their friends and family can’t take the abuse from them anymore and must have them leave. This is the fault of the individual. They destroyed their home situation and are responsible for their actions. This is why they are homeless. It’s not because, one day they had a financial hardship, and the very next day they are sleeping in the street. We all know this is true. We all know of someone who was given chance after chance, and they ultimately caused themselves to become homeless. We all know of someone who needed financial help and needed a place to stay. And because they were one of the HTLC community they were given a place to stay.

The homeless issue is a county problem, not just the city. Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is our solution to the homeless crisis.  Acres in the outskirts which first responders can use TODAY, to IMMEDIATELY RELOCATE ILLEGAL CAMPERS.  This outskirts location will have the basic human dignities:  portable restrooms, garbage pickup, food donation trucks, water, and social services outreach.  Tents and pallets in the short term, while working toward a small tent, big tent, tiny home incentives program, with ultimate goal of transitioning into a residence in the city.  

 

Page 3

MORE LAW & ORDER; less crime and chaos.

ENFORCE LAWS against threats, trespassing, loitering, illegal camping and littering. Allow a special trained unit of code enforcement personnel to relocate violators to Dignity Acres Emergency Campground. 

Dignity Acres Emergency Campground should be a minimum of 5 miles away from any residential neighborhoods, schools, and businesses, in its own separate area. The city and county have lots of land on the outskirts of the city.

Dignity Acres Emergency Campground is the solution San Jose & Santa Clara County’s HTLC Community will support. A one stop shop with human dignities. 

Goal: Establish a bus route to Dignity Acres. Include Dignity Acres in city garbage pickup routes. Provide porta potties, fresh water, laundry services and food truck services for providing meals. Provide on-site mental health and social services.  One place for donations from the city, or county, private or churches. ALL services offered to every individual.

INCENTIVES

GOAL: 3 types of living conditions conducive to the individual's needs and desire to move towards a higher standard of living. These 3 types of living conditions can also be used as steps, if desired by the individual, to ultimately graduate to an existing apartment/home in the city.

Step #1 Pallet on the ground with tent on top. Sleeping bags. Water hose, designated porta potties, and food truck nearby. Step #1 is for those individuals who want nothing more than this and already choose to live in creeks, under bridges, and makeshift tents. These individuals choose to litter and live around actual garbage. They choose to not bathe. This is their lifestyle. A service crew would be assigned to pick up their garbage.

Step #2 Pavement foundation with a large community tent (heavy duty military base style). Portable showers are located inside the tent. Raised bed frame with mattress. Sleeping bags. Designated Porta potties and food truck nearby. These individuals are required to get along with others in their community tent and dispose of their own trash.

Step #3 Tiny Home with its own private bathroom and showers. Step 3’s intention is to transition individual from a tiny home, to an apartment.

This level, there is a community kitchen and laundry room. These individuals are required to obey all the rules of the Tiny Home community within the Dignity Acres Campground itself. They are required to keep their home and surrounding area clean and be able to take care of themselves. Participation in this program allows individuals to graduate to Step #4 (apartment located in the city limits).  Step #4 requires the individual has not committed any crimes or used any drugs for the past full year.

Step #4 Apartment in the city limits. Have a job. Obey the rules and policies of the apartment building. Take care of themselves. Keep the apartment clean.  Do not commit any crimes. Do not use any drugs (periodic drug test required on former drug users). Step #4 requires No criminal charges or drug use for one full year prior to being eligible for an apartment. If either a criminal charge or drug use occurs at any time while living at the apartment, the individual needs to return to Step#3 for another full year. If the individual is removed from the apartment for committing a crime, the one-year wait starts after the individual has completed his time in jail.

Thank you for your consideration,  Concerned HTLC Citizens of San Jose Berryessa Neighborhood,

Robert Mickanen & Sandra Harrison Kay    NOTonNOBLE.blogspot.com

Page 4 End.

Thursday, November 9, 2023

NOV 29TH, 2023 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR VICTORY

 Nov 29th, 2023 will mark the 1 year anniversary of NOTonNOBLE's VICTORY. 


  

-Very hard fought, countless hours, meetings, open mics, door-to-door canvassing,  business-to-business canvassing, phone calls, letters.. sign distribution, legal work,   - over 6 months of full time, over time, unpaid work; a sacrifice necessary to combat the stealth vote by san jose city council to place 100 tiny homes on our sacred perc ponds (AKA: Penitencia Creek Reach 2 Park); directly across from Noble Elementary School, a day care, a library, and near Piedmont Middle School and Toyon Elementary School and in a residential neighborhood.  


We Thank God everyday we walk past Noble Elementary School, the day care, the library, and through our sacred perc ponds park (AKA: Penitencia Creek Reach 2), 

for all the neighbors who stepped up to the plate and contributed to save our children, their parents; teachers, our schools, our library, our park, our beautiful Berryessa neighborhood from a very destructive, incredibly dangerous tiny home development.

We fought hard and WON!   THIS NOTonNOBLE blog remains up to serve as a testimony; and to serve as a template resource for those looking to learn what it took to accomplish this very worthy goal. 

Gratitude & Blessings,  Robert Mickanen & Sandra Harrison Kay

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

NO TO TINY HOMES; period.


 

We do not support tiny home sites at all.  Our research shows time and again, they do not work.

IDEA:  if tiny home sites are mandatory, despite the research and results  -put them in the outskirts! away from any home, school, business, public in general


ONE PLACE, away from everyone, where you can bring portable toilets; food donations; for garbage pick up; for social services outreach and programs; one centralized place people can be relocated from the streets and sidewalks, underpasses, etc. 

and those who are willing, able and capable to work,  -one place transportation can pick up/drop off...


       * TO my personal understanding, San Jose (city) is being mandated/pressured at the state level to continue to build these failing tiny home sites despite the research/results.

        * THE biggest unanswered questions remain:  -once in a tiny home, where next?!?  -where are they being transitioned to?  And,  if tiny home resident(s) are safe, healthy, and have only fallen on financial hard times   -we should be able to skip the tiny home all together, and get them write into wherever they'd end up at, anyway   -write?      AND, the harder reality and therefore more critical question that remains unanswered and unaddressed:
Let's say San Jose successfully pushes the tiny home agenda.. spends whatever is necessary, and takes up the land space required to remove 6000 currently unsheltered people off the streets and into tiny homes..  (skipping here the destruction of otherwise healthy neighborhoods/businesses this causes)  

These tiny homes attract more unsheltered, homeless people into our city, on our streets, etc. 

suddenly you have 1000 more to deal with...    What is the plan then? 

Friday, September 1, 2023

Exciting News! Kansen Chu is running for SJ City Council, District 4

 




Dear Awesome Neighbors, 
 Kansen Chu, one of our very own neighbors and fellow "NOTonNOBLE" warriors is running for city council; District 4 OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!  Kansen fought along side us, appearing in person and speaking up at city council as a neighbor, and as a Board of Trustees Member of the Berryessa Union School District. Kansen and his lovely wife, Daisy, share our values, have become our friends and have our vote.


Blessings Everyone,   Robert & Sandra

  









Monday, April 10, 2023

KQED's Guy Marzorati interviews Sandra Harrison Kay re: NOTonNOBLE protest

 

KQED interview  Guy Marzorati phone interview w/Sandra Harrison Kay  02/17/2023

    

WHAT INSPIRED ME TO PROTEST

What inspired me was just knowing and understanding how dangerous, negligent  AND completely inappropriate the noble site is for a 100 bed site

1.       The Noble site is an open space park families use everyday for walks, hikes, bike rides  -it’s a natural reserve for wildlife

2.       This is land that also serves as a water supply facility  -

3.       It is directly across the street from an elementary school, a day care, a library, and down the street from a middle school.. 

4.       And the Noble site had already been voted down and found not viable in 2017..   it should have never been put back on the table for consideration

KEYS THAT LEAD TO OUR VICTORY

FIRST KEY  -first and foremost we had to go door to door and business to business sounding the alarm, because so many people didn’t even know this vote took place, and as they did learn about it, they were livid!  And they wanted to join us and take action

 

SECOND KEY: And then we were blessed with such a diverse range of gifts/talents among the neighbors, everyone contributing.. some making signs, some distributing signs, people writing the council and alerting news media and social media.. people spreading the word to their own social groups, people organizing protests at city hall, participating in open forums, people contacting open space organizations, neighborhood groups, schools/teachers..   collecting official letters of opposition.. having change.org, a blog to keep people informed, a gofundme fundraiser to hire an attorney..      

 

THIRD & FINAL KEY:  everyone had to remain steadfast, determined and patient without knowing how long it would all take.  THE EFFORT took an enormous toll on all of us.  So grateful for the core group that hung in there..

 

DID YOU WIN OVER COHEN?

 

Did we win over cohen?  Let me share this about cohen.. he was one of the two who voted no to the site, and it is in his district, so obviously theres some political motivation to do so, but, cohen told me on more than one occasion, he was, on a personal level,  okay with having these densely populated caged tiny home sites directly across from schools.   It would be so negligent to do so, I asked him on three separate occasions, and each time, he said he’d be ok with it.   So I’m appalled by his values, but grateful for his honesty.  And he is to thank for strengthening the language for our victory, and including the word ‘permanently’ in the official documents, so that, the Noble site is now permanently removed from consideration in the future.  This was very important because this neighborhood already had to fight in 2017, then 2022, and really did not want to have to wonder if they’d have to do this all again every few years.  It is hard and exhausting

 

 

MAHAN   intro/votes/allegiance

 

We met matt mahan for the first time at one of our protest picnics..  what I appreciated, is that, both politically and personally he was opposed to the idea of these densely populated caged tiny homes sites being anywhere near schools or parks.  Much of what he said at the picnic lined up with our values, and he did earn the allegiance and votes from many of the NOTonNOBLE group.

 

 

The biggest overall issues with tiny homes,  this is my favorite question..

Because I have done an enormous amount of research since the protest began,

And

1.        I strongly and completely believe we will never solve the homelessness crisis until we correct the vocabulary.  This ‘homeless’ or ‘unhoused’ umbrella term is painfully vague, and dangerously euphemistic

 

This is not one demographic.  We have people with drug addictions, we have people with severe mental illness,  people with combinations of the two.  We have prematurely released criminals that should return to jail.  We have freeloaders and we have a very small percentage of people exclusively experiencing temporary financial hardship.  

 

 We need to address and problem solve for each group independently.

 

2.        The current panel for problem solving is way too small, and loaded with conflicts of interest.  I have been writing and sharing throughout, that the city desperately needs a larger problem solving panel, and that panel should absolutely include law enforcement, healthcare workers, first responders in general, small and large business owners, residents/parents from various neighborhoods..   I have a longer list, but, we desperately need a larger problem solving panel with more voices contributing to the solution. Solve group by group, issue by issue, obstacle by obstacle  -and make the activity public.

 

What can SJ do better in the future?

 

I would never use the blanket term homeless

 

We have to be specific 

What can San Jose do to remove drug addicts from our streets and neighborhoods and relocate them into rehab centers?

What can San Jose do to remove people with severe mental illnesses away from our parks, stores and neighborhoods and relocate them into hospitals?

 

What can San Jose do to remove criminals from our streets, stores and neighborhoods and relocate them into jail?

 

And for the small % of people who are exclusively dealing with financial hardship..  the city already has 3 pages worth of services   -but I do believe some rent control practices would help us so we can avoid forcing otherwise healthy, hard working, contributors out on the street only to spend gazillions for temporary shelters so we can get them back into subsidized housing.   The current practice makes no sense at all.

 

So, we need to STOP using the word homeless, like we are talking about one demographic, and be much more specific.  And we need a larger problem solving panel with more voices at the table.  


Excerpts from this interview included in THIS ARTICLE

Friday, December 2, 2022

NO TINY HOMES @ COTTLE VTA IN SAN JOSE Support District 10

 Let us help protect the next neighborhood under attack by the failing tiny home agenda

WE DO NOT SUPPORT TINY HOMES NEAR ANY SCHOOLS, PARKS, LIBRARIES, DAYCARE, RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS  -And not near KAISER HOSPITAL-  Healthcare providers, patients and our public deserve protection! 


Sign Petition for District 10: 

 NO Tiny Homes @ Cottle VTA   HERE


Please be aware:  Change.org, will request donations which are optional  

These donations go directly to Change.org to maintain their website 

 and are not a donation toward your personal cause. 


 We highly recommend this documentary


DEMAND A NEW, LARGER PROBLEM SOLVING PANEL





THIS IS AN EMERGENCY DAEC IS THE SOLUTION

Candidate for Dignity Acres Emergency Campground   03/13/24   corner of capitol & hostetter          -perhaps its all repeat; but in a n...