Mayor Matt Mahan's plan to penalize homeless residents who refuse shelter dominated San Jose's budget hearing, amidst criticism and debate on public safety resources. Mahan argues the need to address repeated refusals for shelter as indicators of severe behavioral health issues. However, opponents, including Councilmember Pamela Campos, highlighted the misrepresentation of data, arguing many in the 30% statistic had found alternative shelter or were unaccounted for. The council remains divided as the city faces a budget deficit and discussions of funding for Mahan's proposed enforcement measures continue to lack clarity and detail.
"We continue to have 30% of people, who were identified through 90 days of outreach before the (Branham Lane) site, who have not moved into the site. I actually think the repeated refusal of shelter is the exact signal we should focus on for intervention, because it is one of the best signs we have that someone has a severe, serious behavioral health issue."
"In this 30% you're talking about, this includes people who were not found, people who moved to other shelter. And so the 30% figure is not people saying no to shelter."
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