Board of Supervisors Approves County Support for Sunnyvale Fire Victims

​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved a proposal by Supervisors Joe Simitian and Dave Cortese to provide County support for victims of the April 15 fire at Twin Pines Manor Apartments in Sunnyvale.

The referral directs the County to coordinate with Sunnyvale Community Services and partner Emergency Assistance Network providers to address the shelter, transportation, and related needs of fire victims and augment case management services as needed. Furthermore, the $150,000 the County has allocated to the Office of Supportive Housing will also provide immediate shelter for displaced residents through additional motel vouchers or family shelter stays.

"This is one of those times when the whole community has to pull together -- the County, the City, local nonprofits and community groups, and caring businesses,” said Simitian.

“As we all know, it’s so difficult to find housing in Santa Clara County even when you have a healthy income,” said Board President Dave Cortese.  “For those who were facing financial stress even before the fire, it is an enormous challenge.  I wish all the residents well in recovering from the loss of home and belongings and we will continue to monitor their needs.”

Approximately 166 people from 75 families were displaced by the April 15 fire at the apartment complex on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road. The Red Cross and Sunnyvale Community Services immediately set up a short-term shelter at the Sunnyvale Senior Center and began arranging meals, medication, and transportation for affected residents. The City of Sunnyvale is providing motel vouchers through May 8 for families that need them; other families are believed to have found temporary accommodations with family members or friends.

Helping affected families find new housing quickly is of particular concern. Some have Section 8 housing vouchers, an indicator of an income that’s insufficient to meet the financial demands associated with market-rate housing in the County. Many of the families have young children, several have disabled or limited mobility older residents, and at least three of the households include veterans. The County must act immediately to help these families secure further accommodations before the City-sponsored hotel funds expire on May 8.

"Time is of the essence," said Simitian.  "We've got 75 families out there with no place to go. And to make matters worse, they're facing an absolutely hellacious housing market. My hope is that we can find them some temporary shelter, buy them a little bit of time, and provides some guidance about how they can settle in in a new location."

Beyond housing services, partners across the community have banded together to support displaced residents. Sunnyvale Community Services is working with VTA to provide bus passes and Clipper Cards to residents, many of whom now face longer commutes to work or school. The County’s Social Services Agency has sent an eligibility worker to enroll the families for appropriate benefits, and Sunnyvale Community Services is working with Downtown Streets Team and members of the County’s Emergency Assistant Network to assess families’ needs and prepare them for rehousing.

“This has been a catastrophic event. Most of the residents were extremely low- to low-income families and seniors who were barely getting by before the fire,” said Marie Bernard, Executive Director of Sunnyvale Community Services. “Sunnyvale Community Services is now taking the lead to help all of the families with their most urgent needs. In the first week, we’ve already moved 12 of the families into new homes. The community has been remarkably generous in its support of these families, but we still need more.”

“The city finds itself in an unprecedented situation of helping 75 families that have found themselves without housing due to the fire,” said Glenn Hendricks, Mayor of Sunnyvale. “We thank the generosity of our community and local support agencies that have stepped up and helped these families. We are grateful to the County for taking quick action to also assist with resources to help these members of our community. I believe we can all be proud of the community, governmental, and non-governmental response that has been provided to these victims of the fire.”