|
Friends and neighbors,
Happy Summer to District 3! We hope you are enjoying a safe and healthy summer. While the Board of Supervisors is on break, we are still active and there is a lot going on this month.
|
|
VTA Update
The VTA Board of Directors recently met to discuss the return of Light Rail service. While there were hopes to see the service return at the end of July, the date of return has been delayed. Click here to read VTA's press release.
We look forward to seeing our trains running again and to utilize public transit once more, but when our VTA family is ready. We continue to heal from the tragic incident that still has our hearts shaken. VTA is family and they continue to need our support. Verified Links - WPUSA Support Fund - ATU Relief Fund - Health Services
|
|
|
Fiscal Year 2020-2021 In Review
July’s arrival is also the close of the County’s budget cycle. We have added a new page to our website called "FY 20-21 In Review", with information about the work we have done together these past seven months. Click HERE to read a more thorough breakdown of our work, but we want to share a few highlights.
- Fair Oaks Park & Helping The Unhoused
The story of our unhoused neighbors at Fair Oaks Park is one of our success stories in the effort to address Silicon Valley’s homelessness crisis. Through a collaborative effort with the City of Sunnyvale, community-based organizations and housing advocates, we helped get neighbors out of the cold and into transitional housing earlier this year.
We are thankful that all of our colleagues care about this issue and we are working to utilize the 2016 Measure A funds to build more supportive housing. We worked with partners in Milpitas to convert a hotel into transitional housing. However, unhoused figures continue to increase. Thankfully, the State's eviction moratorium was extended to September 30, but we still expect too many of our neighbors to face serious challenges to stay housed.
While we spent the majority of the FY 20-21 working together, it was my predecessor that set this past year’s budget. Each Supervisorial office has access to discretionary funds that may be used for community projects. We created the D3 URJGENT (Unhoused - Racial Justice - Green - Equity - Neighborhoods - Transparency) Grants Program. We approved 73 applications, helping to secure $1 million in funding. We will share progress on these programs in the coming months.
- Supporting Our Women & Girls
The CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination) Task Force has provided their responses and recommendations relating to women’s economic development and security, supportive housing systems for women, and justice system involvement of women and girls in the County. Supporting our women and girls is the best pathway to a stronger future for our community. We look forward to taking action on these recommendations.
We have invested more resources for Black Infant Health and Prenatal Equity Program expansion. We are finding better housing options for our justice-engaged women and youth. We extended HERO pay to our essential workers, majority of them women, for their commitment to our community during the pandemic. Lastly, and as a long overdue policy, Santa Clara County will now provide free women's menstrual products in County-owned facilities.
We look forward to what’s ahead for FY 21-22, and will share more soon. We accomplished all of this work together, and we will thrive if we can continue to work together. It’s an honor to serve the community, and we look forward to the work ahead.
|
|
|
National Night Out 2021
While many of us are enjoying time with friends and family as California has reopened, we have the chance to gather together in celebration of our neighborhoods in a couple weeks with National Night Out, NNO. The 38th Annual NNO will be celebrated in San José and Sunnyvale on August 3, 2021, and in Milpitas on August 5, 2021.
NNO is an annual crime prevention and community-building event that takes place all across the United States. More than 38 million people will participate to strengthen neighborhood spirit and police/community partnerships, heighten crime prevention awareness, and generate support for those crime prevention efforts. Registration is free, and is open now until July 21st. For more information or any further questions about NNO please click here or call the San José Police Department Crime Prevention Unit at (408) 277-4133, Milpitas Police Department at (408) 586-2400, Sunnyvale Police Department at (408) 730-7100. National Night Out is for everyone!
If you are hosting a NNO event in your neighborhood and would like the D3 Team to visit, please contact us at Supervisor.Lee@bos.sccgov.org.
|
|
|
We’ve been so excited to attend events across the community this summer. We shared so many laughs and cheer at the Rose, White and Blue Festival in San José. The D3 Team made a visit to Martha’s Kitchen in San José to learn more about the efforts to help provide food to our unhoused neighbors. We also visited the new transitional housing project that repurposes shipping containers in Mountain View. It was an honor to visit the San José Gurdwara and share time with our Sikh families. We also stopped at the Apple Inc. property in North San José that has become the recent focus on the growing unhoused population in the South Bay.
To request a meeting with me or the D3 Office, or if you would like me or someone from the D3 Team to attend an event or make a site visit - please visit SupervisorLee.org for our Request Meeting and Request Event Appearance forms.
Please stay safe and be prepared for a hot summer. I am looking forward to spending some time with my family in the coming days, and being here for you as Santa Clara County begins the first steps of moving forward to better, bright days.
Warmest regards,
Supervisor Otto Lee
Santa Clara County District 3
Supervisor.Lee@bos.sccgov.org
SupervisorLee.org
|
|
|
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS & IMPORTANT RESOURCES
|
|
AACI's Asian Women’s Home, which serves survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, is providing Housing Assistance to Santa Clara County Residents! Visit https://aaci.org/wellness/womens-home/ or call AACI at (408) 975-2739 for more details and information.
|
|
Roots Community Health Center Food Is Medicine Program. Roots Community Health Center, in partnership with The Health Trust, The Packard Foundation and First 5, are analyzing the impact that nutritious and culturally sensitive diets have on health outcomes for Black women. They are providing 25 African American women who are in their 3rd trimester with free nutritious meals and groceries to feed themselves and their families, free virtual workouts with a fitness coach and free maternal navigation and mental health resources for a duration of 12 weeks. Learn more at https://rootsclinic.org/south-bay-clinic/ or call (510) 944-2516.
|
|
The D3 Team is excited to participate in the Stars and Strides Run! Join us in Downtown San Jose on Sunday, August 22 for the inaugural Bloom Energy Stars and Strides 5k/10k and Kids Fun Run. Your participation will honor healthcare workers and raise funds for the Valley Medical Center Foundation. Visit https://www.starsandstridesrun.com/ to register.
|
|
Our friends at Bay Area Older Adults is hosting several summer events. For more information, visit https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/home
Conserving Water Inside Your Home on August 5, 2021 from 11 AM to 12:15 PM Participants will learn a holistic water conservation approach that focuses on reducing their overall water footprint, including the 10x impact of the food on our plates and the products we use in our daily lives. We will provide a water calculator to make participants more aware of the impact that their daily choices have on water conservation. We will also discuss water efficient products. This program is in partnership with Valley Water. Please register by visiting https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/bao-lectures
Newt Patrol on August 19, 2021 from 11 AM to 12:15 PM Two species of newts live in the forested hills surrounding Lexington Reservoir, Los Gatos. Every winter, after the first substantial rain, they begin migrating into the creeks and the reservoir in order to reproduce. You may have seen them crossing park trails, roads and other paths. Incredibly, an average of 5,000 newts are killed per year by humans just at Lexington Reservoir! This is one of the highest amphibian mortality rates globally. Learn about Newt Patrol, a group of citizen scientists who have been surveying newt migration and roadkills near Lexington Reservoir since 2017 and advocating for their protection. Our speaker will teach us about these fascinating amphibians and the important work Newt Patrol is doing to save them. Please register by visiting https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/bao-lectures
The History, Birds & Smelly Plants of Ravenswood Preserve on August 25, 2021 from 9 AM to 2 PM Perched on the western shores of the San Francisco Bay in East Palo Alto, this preserve features raised redwood boardwalks and observation decks for easy viewing of sensitive wetlands, bird watching or watching the tide roll away. We will take a three-mile leisurely journey out on the easy access levee trails and wildlife viewing decks for an up-close view of the native plants and birds found in the restored tidal marsh wetlands and shoreline. Bus transportation and a hearty lunch are included. Detailed meeting location and other information will be provided after confirmation of registration. This walk is in partnership with Midpen. Register by visiting https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/bao-hikes
|
|
Vote for our Community Mobile Response Program's new name!
The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department, BHSD, is asking the community/County residents to vote on the Community Mobile Response, CMR, Program’s permanent name. The survey will be open until midnight on July 28, 2021, and the final name for the CMR Program will be shared in August 2021. After the CMR Naming Survey activity has been completed, BHSD will commence the logo design contest, with the winner to be awarded a $5,000 cash prize as approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 22, 2021. Vote online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CMR_Naming
|
|
|
2022 Civil Grand Jury Annual Recruitment! The Superior Court of California for the County of Santa Clara County is currently accepting applications for the Civil Grand Jury. Click HERE for more information. Applications are due by Friday September 17, 2021.
|
|
|
READ PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS:
|
|
|
|
