San Jose council receives report on community-led domestic violence response; directs staff to pursue design work and coordination with county

The San Jose City Council on May 20 received a report and community engagement findings on community-led approaches to prevent and respond to domestic and gender‑based violence and directed staff to advance design work for community-based pilot responses in coordination with county partners.

The report, conducted by the Battered Women’s Justice Project in partnership with two local nonprofits, summarized outreach with survivors and service providers and recommended culturally responsive education, community-centered healing hubs, improved disability and language access, clear terminology and locally accessible housing for survivors. Staff emphasized the difficulty of outreach to marginalized survivors and said survey and focus‑group work prioritized survivors’ voices.

Why it matters: The report builds on prior city direction — including recommendations from the Reimagining Public Safety Community Advisory Committee and funding included in the FY 2023–24 budget — to explore alternatives to criminal‑justice responses and expand community‑based services for survivors. Advocates and survivors told the council they avoid police for safety and trauma reasons and urged the city to fund pilot design and survivor‑led response options.

Key findings and policy directions: Consultant Sujata Warrior summarized three major findings: many survivors do not recognize their experience as domestic violence or know available services; survivors seek healing in community-centered settings; and existing systems sometimes provide harmful interventions and need new pathways to safety. Recommendations in the report included culturally responsive education and a centralized, language- and disability-accessible hub for survivors to find help.

Public comment and council action: Several speakers including community‑based advocates and survivors urged the council to fund and launch a community‑designed pilot. Vice Mayor Foley and several councilmembers authored a memo calling for staff to return with an implementation plan. Councilmember Dwan moved to approve the staff presentation and incorporate memos from the vice mayor and other councilmembers; the motion passed unanimously. Staff said $50,000 remained available from prior allocations and recommended that council consider a budget addendum to identify next steps and funding to support design work; staff also committed to coordinate with the County Office of Gender‑Based Violence Prevention, which is preparing a separate prevalence assessment due this summer.

What it does not do: The council did not appropriate new, ongoing funding for an implementation pilot at this meeting; any pilot implementation and associated recurring costs would require a separate budget action.

Provenance: Presentation and consultant remarks began at transcript block 11479.975; council motion recorded at transcript block 14141.16.