Bramson: The experience of failure

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the essay “Experience” in 1844. Following the death of his son, the essay considers the differences between adhering to abstract theory and conventional wisdom, as opposed to direct engagement when navigating the twists and turns of life. In many ways, it’s a heartbreaking piece about the impossibility of escaping loss and despair, but it also offers insight into how we can grow from the firsthand experience of failure.

In the work of housing and homelessness, we had our share of setbacks recently. With the Supreme Court stripping protections away from people with nowhere else to go, the California governor launching an all out punitive pressure campaign to push folks out of sight, and the devastating turn of events that led regional partners to pull a $20 billion affordable housing measure from the ballot, I find myself wondering what’s next? Even worse, given what I have seen for the majority of my career when it comes to our record for really helping the poorest people, I do wonder why I’m not surprised by the current state of affairs.

I was talking with a candidate running for local office last week, sharing some of these frustrations. She reminded me that we never consider the past when making decisions about poverty and homelessness. If we did, people might remember that the last time we made sustained investments in the most vulnerable citizens — the New Deal — what followed was one greatest periods of prosperity our country had ever experienced. By giving people homes they could afford and wages that met the cost of living, the modern homelessness that we know today all but disappeared for decades in every community across the nation.

But that was a long time ago. And our memory is short. As I look out at our prospects now, there’s not a dollar of proposed funding to be considered by voters in November. You could lay this blame at the feet of the special interest groups that planned a well-timed attack to derail our efforts, but it’s also true we’ve always known their hearts and should’ve seen this coming. And since we never had a plan B for our region, the state of panic is palpable. 

My own experience following the dissolution of the redevelopment agency in 2012 tells me what’s coming next. With the 2016 Measure A affordable housing bond nearly expended, San Jose’s Measure E almost fully redirected to emergency responses and most donors beginning to take a more global approach to their philanthropy, our best response to homelessness — building deeply affordable housing — is going to slow to a snail’s pace. And without more homes opening soon, even those who have found shelter beds will languish for years.

Don’t get me wrong, we have a fierce bunch of leaders locally who will fight hard to keep what we have going. But it’s still not going to be anywhere near enough to solve the crisis on our streets without more help.

Experience tells me that it’s time to go back to the drawing board. We’ll see what happens in the next few months, and a yes on Proposition 5 — the statewide measure to lower the voter threshold on affordable housing measures to 55% — would go a long way toward improving our prospects. We need to figure out where we go from here.

But, as Emerson said, we also can’t continue to act with the nonchalance of children expecting supper. For the next voting opportunity in 2026, we have to ask ourselves what we’re willing to do and how much we’re going to fight for it locally. In this regard, our collective experience of what has and hasn’t worked in the past should be front and center.

San José Spotlight columnist Ray Bramson is the Chief Operating Officer at Destination: Home, a nonprofit that works to end homelessness in Silicon Valley. His columns appear every second Monday of the month. Contact Ray at [email protected] or follow @rbramson on X, formerly known as Twitter.