San Jose, California – San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is pushing a controversial new policy that would create a specialized police unit to enforce a city ordinance requiring unhoused residents to accept available shelter — or face possible arrest.
Unveiled ahead of the City Council’s upcoming budget hearings on Monday, the “Responsibility to Shelter” initiative is aimed at reducing the city’s growing homeless population, which currently includes an estimated 5,500 unsheltered residents. The proposal comes as California faces record-high homelessness in 2024, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
“We’re making a historic investment trying to get people indoors and connected to services,” Mahan said Thursday. “The goal has always been to get people the help they need.”…