San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan proposed making it a crime to refuse shelter three times within 18 months, with the goal of using the court system to push service-resistant homeless individuals into care.
“Homelessness can’t be a choice, especially when over 200 people die on the streets each year,” said Mahan in a recent video statement. “Especially when we’re offering a safe, private, dignified alternative.”
“I am proposing that after three offers of shelter, we hold people accountable for turning their lives around,” continued Mahan. “Because we all have a responsibility to end this crisis – government has a responsibility to build shelter, and our homeless neighbors have a responsibility to use it.”
Mahan told NBC the average homeless individual costs the city $65,000 per year in just hospital visits and other public service impacts — not including homelessness spending. That’s more than the city’s average GDP per capita.
