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KQED's Guy Marzorati interviews (me!) 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

posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 10:36 AM