SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A contentious plan is under consideration by the city council in California’s Silicon Valley’s largest city, wherein homeless individuals who decline three separate offers of shelter may face arrest.
This proposal, championed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahon, is notable for emerging from a liberal city led by a Democrat in the progressive San Francisco Bay Area. It stands out as one of the more stringent measures aimed at discouraging encampments, following a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that facilitated prohibitions against the homeless camping on public grounds.
This development reflects growing exasperation over unsanitary tent encampments on sidewalks and along riverbanks, as well as the erratic behavior of individuals influenced by substance use or mental distress in a state that accounts for about 187,000 homeless people. California accommodates approximately 25% of the nation’s homeless population.
Mahan says most people do accept offers of shelter. But he wants to make clear to the small percentage of people who refuse, that as the city builds more shelter and interim housing, they have a responsibility to move indoors.
“I think we need a cultural change, a culture of accountability for everyone involved,” said Mahan. “I don’t want to use the criminal justice system to make vulnerable people’s lives harder. I want to use it as a last resort.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and former mayor of San Francisco, has repeatedly urged cities to ban encampments. Arrests for illegal lodging have soared in San Francisco, and its current mayor, Daniel Lurie, has reiterated that it is not appropriate for people to live outdoors.
Advocates for homeless people say cracking down on encampments is traumatizing and even counterproductive. Forcing a person to clear out sets them back in their search for stability as they could lose important documents needed to apply for work and housing, they said.
“Pushing people with mental health needs or drug addiction into incarceration — without any crime committed — is both inhumane and ineffective,” said Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, in a written statement emailed Monday to The Associated Press.
Lee and other county leaders are opposed to the mayor’s proposal. They say they need more housing, beds and services, and not punishment.
The “responsibility to shelter” proposal does not mandate an arrest after three rejected offers. After talking with the city attorney’s office and police, Mahan said it made more sense to give front-line outreach workers and police officers discretion to decide when to escalate or prioritize a situation. The city will set up a new six-officer quality of life unit within the police department.
“We don’t want to overly tie their hands and tell them this is the only way to do it,” the mayor said.
People who repeatedly violate the city’s encampment code of conduct — which also includes keeping tents free of trash and not blocking the public right of way — could be sent to a recovery center for detox or petitioned for court-mandated treatment to mental health and substance use disorder care, Mahan said.
San Jose has nearly 1,400 shelter spots and hopes to add another 800 by the end of the year. Officials are aware they do not have enough beds, and Mahan said that people will not be punished if beds are unavailable or the only options are unsuitable.
