HOUSING

De-Bug has worked around housing issues and with unhoused folks since nearly the beginning of our collective journey. More recently De-Bug joined a broad coalition effort in 2015 to strengthen renter protections in the city of San José. That campaign would last 4 years and win a rent cap, and just cause eviction protections which had not existed before.   

​

Just months after that win, the City of San Jose announced that they would begin negotiations with Google to sell them public land for what would be their biggest campus. We opposed the sale of any public land to Google. During this Stop Google campaign, we also supported the launch of the first community land trust in San Jose, called the South Bay Community Land Trust - to fulfill the community’s vision to have community controlled permanently affordable housing.

At the same time, we were also supporting tenants one on one who had issues with their landlords. We started to think about using the Participatory Defense model in housing – to have one meeting where folks facing housing issues could come together and solve problems they were facing together. When the COVID pandemic hit, we did start those meetings online for folks who were trying to figure out how to pay rent when they had no work. Now, the PD housing meeting is held with San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties together online every week.

 

Participatory Defense Housing Meetings:

Participatory Defense Housing meetings apply the participatory defense model to supporting people through navigating housing systems. These meetings are for folks who are either facing eviction or housing conditions or are currently looking for how to pursue affordable housing opportunities, reach out to info@siliconvalleydebug.org to inquire about the meeting.