Plans are underway in San Jose for mini-homes to house a prison diversion program for people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — People taking part in a prison diversion program could soon also live in tiny houses. However, some residents feel completely taken aback by the news.

Santa Clara County is considering purchasing two transitional housing sites in San Jose.

These are the tiny houses on Monterey Road and Bernal as well as the Vermont House, two properties owned by the city.

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News of the planned changes to the sites surprised residents like Issa Ajlouny, the president of the group SAFER San Jose.

“And then we learn they're talking about a prison diversion program, and we're shocked,” Ajlouny said.

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Ajlouny said he and some of his neighbors were invited by the county to a virtual meet and greet on Thursday evening.

But when they answered the call, they learned of the county's intention to convert the halfway houses into a prison diversion program.

“The judge will bring them here instead of putting them in jail. Well, that's probably a good program and good to have counseling, it could be a really good thing, but come on, we?” Ajlouny said.

If or when the county takes ownership of the sites, it says it will continue to serve the homeless but will focus on those who have agreed to participate in the jail diversion program.

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On Friday, the county sent ABC7 information about who exactly might be living at these sites.

“This includes people involved with any of the Collaborative Courts, people with an underlying problem that leads to criminalized behavior, and people with mental illness, substance use disorders, or both.

Mental illness and/or substance abuse are often a major reason why people come into conflict with the justice system. A stable housing situation can improve the situation.”

-Santa Clara County Department of Behavioral Health Services.”

ABC7 spoke with Mayor Matt Mahan on Friday.

“People have legitimate questions, and let's face it: many of the people living on our streets today who are homeless are facing serious problems,” Mahan said.

This will allow the city to concentrate on construction, said the mayor.

“By handing these responsibilities over to our partners at the census, we are freeing the city to continue to focus on using the site and creating more transitional housing and affordable housing. Where we are at is not in providing services that we contract nonprofits to do, but the counties are really the safety net for health and social services,” Mahan said.

Mahan said we would be better off as a community if people could get into safe and managed environments with services.

“What we're seeing from the data is really encouraging. We're seeing that in the neighborhoods that have these sites that are getting people off the streets and into indoor spaces and providing them with services, the number of crime and delinquency calls is actually going down,” Mahan said.

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The city's final vote on the sale was scheduled for August 27. However, on Friday the item was removed from the agenda and postponed until a later date.

Ajlouny stresses that the current residents of the temporary accommodation do not pose a problem.

“The most important thing for me is to understand the details of what is going on so we can make a decision and contain our challenges,” Ajlouny said.