Silicon Valley lawmakers want to decriminalize homelessness

As cities across California ban homeless encampments and Gov. Gavin Newsom encourages more sweeps, San Jose lawmakers are standing up against criminalizing homelessness.

State Sen. Sasha Perez along with Assemblymembers Ash Kalra, Alex Lee and Matt Haney have co-authored a bill that would make it illegal for cities to prohibit organizations or people from helping homeless residents. Senate Bill 643 has passed the Senate and is being considered in the Assembly.

“Providing for those that are in need is a value we should uphold and celebrate, not criminalize,” Kalra, whose district includes parts of San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy, told San José Spotlight.

He wants the bill to pass, but acknowledges there will be pressure from cities to prevent it from going through.

Lee, whose district includes North San Jose, Milpitas and Fremont, said homelessness is a societal failure, not a personal choice — and preventing criminalization is necessary to alleviate the crisis.

“What cities like Fremont and San Jose have done only exacerbate the housing crisis and serve as political theater with no real long-term results to show for,” Lee told San José Spotlight.

Last year’s Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling made it possible for jurisdictions to ban homeless encampments on public property, even if there’s an insufficient number of shelter beds. Since then, Fremont leaders have attempted to prohibit groups from providing aid to homeless people and San Jose enacted a policy in June to arrest homeless people who repeatedly refuse shelter.

Yet homelessness in Santa Clara County has continued to rise. According to this year’s count, homelessness has skyrocketed to more than 10,700 people, of which 7,472 are unsheltered. San Jose’s homeless population experienced an increase of 237 homeless people from two years ago, up to 6,503 residents. About 60% are unsheltered, or 3,959 people.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said each city should have the ability to tackle homelessness the way it sees fit. He’s focused on building tiny homes and converting motels into temporary homeless housing as the solution to ending people sleeping on streets. Over the past year, San Jose has built 524 shelter beds or spaces, with more coming online later this year. The city has ramped up its encampment sweeps, clearing more than 500 camps last fiscal year.

“No one-size-fits-all solution exists for homelessness — just as each individual facing homelessness has unique needs, so does each city,” Mahan told San José Spotlight. “While we support compassionate efforts to help those in need, we believe local governments must maintain the authority to manage services in ways that balance public safety with effective support.”

Monica Porter Gilbert, senior mental health policy advocate from Disability Rights California, said there’s not enough shelter beds or affordable housing for people who want it when addressing San Jose’s policy to arrest those who refuse shelter.

According to a San José Spotlight’s exclusive compilation of data, there is only one shelter bed for every three homeless people across the county. Most of the bed space is in San Jose, which has 2,989 beds.

In addition, the city and county are lagging far behind on affordable housing production. San Jose is mandated by the state to build 62,200 homes by 2031, of which 34,486 must be affordable. So far, San Jose has completed 3,586 homes in the current cycle, which runs from 2023 to 2031.

“What that means is that no matter what an individual or family does, there are still going to be hundreds of thousands of Californians forced to live outside until the government actually addresses the need,” Gilbert told San José Spotlight.

Although San Jose does not prohibit groups from providing assistance to homeless people, Kalra said any city under the federal ruling could enact legislation to further criminalize homelessness.

“Sweeping encampments and arresting people in a community where you don’t have enough housing for everyone is cruelty,” Kalra said. “It’s both intellectually and morally lazy to just revert to what might be politically popular, to clear out those (whom) folks may not want to see. But it takes real compassion and thoughtfulness to think of how we can actually uplift those who are struggling the most.”

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This story was originally published by San José Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

By JOYCE CHU/San José Spotlight
San José Spotlight