SAN FRANCISCO – San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan unveiled an initiative Thursday that would ratchet up the pressure on homeless people to accept shelter or face jail time.
“Homelessness can’t be a choice,” Mahan said during a news conference to announce his proposed ordinance. “I’m proposing that after three offers of shelter, we hold people accountable for turning their lives around.”
Mahan’s proposal is the latest escalation in a statewide crackdown on homeless encampments following a pivotal June 28 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave local officials the authority to ban camping on sidewalks, streets and other public property, even if there isn’t shelter available. In the months since, civic leaders across California have launched a variety of punitive tactics aimed at clearing out homeless camps and ushering people into shelter and treatment…