West Valley nonprofit receives $200,000 federal grant for roaming services van

"Congressman Liccardo announced on Feb. 20 that he secured $200,000 for West Valley Community Services to help create a roaming van to provide services for unhoused residents. He also said that two of his bills, the BUILD Housing Act and the Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act, passed the House of Representatives. Both bills are part of a larger legislative package to help accelerate the development of affordable housing."

"You probably noticed the federal government has not been tremendously helpful in the last few months, Liccardo told fellow politicians and others assembled in Mountain View for the announcement. Nonetheless, I've been working every day amid the dysfunction of Washington D.C., waking up, thinking about how we can do more to tackle this housing crisis we have at home and throughout metropolitan regions in the country."

"West Valley Community Services is a nonprofit agency that serves low-income and unhoused people in Cupertino, Saratoga, West San Jose, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and the communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Executive director Sujatha Venkatraman spearheaded the idea of the West Valley Mobile Navigation Center van. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Venkatraman noticed that there was no drop-in or navigation center for unhoused clients in West Valley cities."

Congressman Sam Liccardo announced $200,000 in federal funding for West Valley Community Services to establish a roaming van delivering services to unhoused residents across his California 16th Congressional District. This funding represents part of $14 million in total federal appropriations Liccardo secured for community housing projects. Two of his bills—the BUILD Housing Act and the Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act—passed the House as part of a broader legislative effort to accelerate affordable housing development. West Valley Community Services, a nonprofit serving low-income and unhoused populations across six communities including Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Gatos, developed the Mobile Navigation Center van concept. Executive director Sujatha Venkatraman identified the need during the COVID-19 pandemic when unhoused clients lacked access to basic facilities and navigation services in West Valley areas.

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