Through the streets of San José, there are more homeless people than I have fingers to count on. In a single, three mile walk I’ve seen up to 20 or more people in various conditions:  broken, sick, and depressed.

But why? 

Homelessness is caused by a multitude of factors such as: mental illness, substance abuse, racial inequality, and the lack of affordable housing, along with many more.

Homelessness in California can be traced back all the way to the Great Depression, where millions had lost their jobs, pushing them onto the streets. In the 1950s California would then close down nearly all of its mental institutions, leading to a lack of care for mentally ill individuals; all of which were early factors contributing to the significance of San José’s homelessness crisis today.

At a glance, California’s most glaring issue lies within the lack of affordable housing, the state is home to Silicon Valley, a technological hub containing two-thirds of high-tech jobs within the entirety of the U.S. As a result, property value within the state has increased, leading to an increase in property tax and cost of living. This means that those who could afford the higher cost of living would stay, and those who couldn’t were either forced into poorer, more dangerous areas, or into neighboring states.

More locally, property tax within San José, California only seems to increase as the average resident of San José is taxed roughly equal to the paycheck of the typical minimum wage earner (around $3,000) equal to $36,000 in annual property taxes. This exorbitant property tax is typically the beginning of the domino effect which ends in homelessness. Expensive property taxes can cause many issues for the average resident of San José, any sort of financial crisis such as a medical emergency may force the individual to take off work or even take on loan debt in order to recover; these combined factors are a strong path to homelessness.

Homelessness continues to remain a prevalent issue on San José’s streets, and now is the time for change, but are these changes truly for the better? 

Last month, the City of San José had conducted a large volume of encampment sweeps, a forced movement of a large number of people who are in financial struggle. These encampments provide temporary support, shelter and residence for those in need. However over the years many of these have been swept and pushed elsewhere.

These sweeps work by leaving an ultimatum to the encampment’s residents stating that they must leave by a set time, if they chose to re-camp their personal belongings would be confiscated without any prior notice. Despite how cruel this may seem, encampments are a primary source for much of the city’s water pollution, and are moved at the request of local residents. Of course, the city is providing support and housing for these individuals; however it is more often than not that the city lacks the resources necessary to provide unique support for certain individuals, especially those who are drug-dependent, and/or mentally ill. 

Last month, San José Mayor Matt Mahan proposed a new initiative, the “Responsibility to Shelter,” which would allow law enforcement to arrest homeless individuals who refuse sheltering, putting these individuals in jail or hospitals, specifically, for those who refuse to be housed three times or more within a period of 18 months. Further, Mayor Mahan has gone on to claim that the arrest of the unhoused will eventually lead to the relief of law enforcement and other emergency services. As Mayor Mahan has stated, “For those who are unwilling to accept (shelter) there’s a more serious underlying behavioral health issue, and that’s where we need our partners at the county to lean in.” He is referring to the fact that San José currently has insufficient bedding and treatment facilities in order to alleviate the current crisis.

In more recent news, the council of Santa Clara County and Mayor Mahan have been at odds with each other regarding the issue of homelessness, as the members of the council have expressed disdain regarding the proposal for the arrest of homeless individuals. Mayor Matt Mahan expresses the hypocrisy of the council’s budget plan, as they have spent and continue to spend merely 1% of their annual budget to tackle the issue, while San José has spent 4% of its own budget just in this fiscal year alone.

Furthermore, opposition to this policy has taken place within the city council of San José, as City-Council Member Pamela Campos criticized the initiative as “making a challenging problem more challenging,” she went on to say, “With a criminal record, if this policy does pass, that’s only going to make it more difficult to find the jobs and the housing that are going to support self-sustainability.” 

Homelessness will continue to remain within San José. That is, if we don’t hold Santa Clara county accountable for the annual budget. If we don’t put toward advancements in homelessness welfare. If we don’t make our voices heard.

The time is now.

Contact the City Mayor at: [email protected]